Untouchable
by Generic Hero
Summary: Complete. When a new enemy arises and Kaiba is forced to once again work with the gang, he starts to find he has feeling for a certain mutt's sister. But what will happen if fate conspires against the two starcrossed lovers? Rated M for violence.
1. Assault

A/N: As this is my first fic, I'd appreciate any feedback possible, even negative feedback. Let me know what's good, what's not and what needs fixing. Much obliged.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, Dragon Ball Z, Resident Evil, any work of music or the rights to any of those things. If I did, I'd probably have more expensive things to do with my time than writing fanfiction.

**Chapter One: Assault**

There was a thin fog covering the early summer ground as Seto Kaiba rode home in his limo. He was in an unusually good mood. Work was progressing smoothly on the latest Kaiba Land motion simulator, and the next generation holograms were nearly finished the debugging process. Yes, Kaiba had good reason to be in relatively high spirits as his limo approached the Kaiba Mansion.

"Uh, Mr. Kaiba?" his chauffeur asked, turning to look back at Kaiba.

"What is it, Kent?" Kaiba replied.

Kent gestured to the main gate in front of the limo. "The gate isn't responding to the remote."

Kaiba rolled his eyes and pulled out his cell, "I'll call security and have them disengage the locks."

Kent nodded, and then suddenly convulsed. Kaiba dropped his cell in shock as he saw a fine spray of blood cover the inside of the windshield. Grabbing his steel briefcase, Kaiba opened the door and stepped out of the limo. Slamming the door, he took a few steps forward, and then one backward.

Off of his wall dropped four cloaked men, all of whom, Kaiba realized, were carrying rather large katana blades. Watching them carefully, Kaiba reached his free hand into his pocket to find his cell. It wasn't there! He'd left it in the limo.

"Damn." Kaiba muttered under his breath as the cloaked men surrounded Kaiba, blades at the ready. They were cowards, he deduced quickly by the fact that the four of them, armed, were planning on attacking the unarmed Kaiba. If they were cowards, he thought, they would likely scare off easily. A plan began to form in his mind. _Here's hoping my years of fencing training come in handy for once, _Kaiba thought to himself. Those katanas would be heavier than foils, though, and heavier meant slower. More pieces began to fall into place in his head, but he needed a bit more time. _I only have one real weapon: they've seriously underestimated Seto Kaiba._

The four men were in position, each on one side of him, and time was something he no longer had. The first one came from behind. Kaiba dropped his briefcase and reached back, grabbing the man's hands and bringing the blade forward to parry the other three's blades. Bringing his elbow back, it connected with the first one's chin and he let go of the blade. Shifting the blade solely to his left hand, Kaiba picked up his briefcase and swung it, knocking the three interlocked blades away and connecting with the jaw of the first assailant. He tumbled to the ground, incapacitated, and Kaiba shifted his focus to the other three.

Now attacking in earnest, it was all Kaiba could do, both briefcase and katana working, to keep them from breaking his defences. The katana was slower than he had anticipated, and he was taking small nicks on the arms and legs even as he moved back to try and keep his defences up. He had passed the unconscious body and was getting further away from his limo, the gate and his cell with every step. Finally, he scored a mild hit on the assailant to his right and he dropped back. The hit cost him, however, as the assailant to his left saw the opening and brought his blade through Kaiba's calf and right up against the bone. Kaiba fell back and the middle assailant thought to use the opportunity to finish him. Heading for a vertical slash as Kaiba landed on his backside, Kaiba slammed his foot into the man's chest and used his momentum to heft him over his head. The assassin's head hit the ground with a sickening thud, and Kaiba used the remaining momentum to continue his roll and land on the downed man's chest, cracking a few ribs in the process. A groan of agony assuaged Kaiba's fears that he had killed the man. Kaiba was many things, but he was not a murderer.

With two of them incapacitated, the other two would be assassins finally re-evaluated the threat of the elder Kaiba. One sprinted to get behind Kaiba, and Kaiba knew he would have to find some way to get his back to a wall. Using his blade to drive the assailant in front's blade to the side, he slammed his briefcase against the assassin's skull. It didn't connect as well as he'd hoped, but the attacker was stunned and it would serve his purpose. With a goal in sight, Kaiba sprinted for the wall. _Where's the other one? _The thought ran through Kaiba's mind a second too late as the blade of the other assailant raked down his back. Kaiba cried out in pain and stumbled against the wall. Turning to face his attacker, Kaiba quickly realized he was fighting a battle of attrition, and it was not on his side.

They came at him at the same time, and Kaiba's blade and case worked frantically to keep them off him. Even with his seemingly inhuman speed, Kaiba suffered numerous hits, and was quickly losing a lot of blood. _If I can separate them I can beat them._He thought, and, sacrificing a rather deep cut that ran along his ribs, he struck the left assailant with his briefcase. Using his katana, he pressed the other's blade down and stomped on the flat, jarring the blade out of his foe's hand and into the dirt. Pointing his blade at the unarmed assassin, he made a bestial grunt of rage. The assailant wisely decided to flee.

He turned to the last one in time to parry a lethal face shot into a deep chest shot, and winced at the sound of the blade running along his ribs like a xylophone. The adrenaline seemed to negate the pain, but he knew that he was seriously injured, and needed immediate medical attention. Somehow, it didn't seem like his attacker would care. Dropping his case, Kaiba locked blades with the assailant and grabbed his hands, locked tightly on the handle of his katana. He spun the two of them around and drove the attacker against the wall. Holding his opponent's hands up in the air with one hand, he took his katana in the other and drove it through the man's right shoulder and into the wall, being rewarded with a cry of pain from the attacker. With him pinned, Kaiba grabbed his case and clocked the attacker across the face with it, rendering him unconscious.

Kaiba ran to the car and threw the driver's side door open. "Kent? Kent!" He shook the chauffeur, and only then noticed the dagger protruding from his chest.

"Damn it." Kaiba swore, and walked over to the gate. He gulped, and choked out, "Voice authorization Seto Kaiba." The gate didn't respond. He looked over to see that the control panel was fried. The shock and adrenaline were clearly blurring his mind, he thought to himself.

Grabbing another katana from one of the felled assassins, he screamed as he swung the blade between the two gates. The blade proved stronger than the lock bar, and it cracked under the force of the blow. Throwing his shoulder into the gate, it broke open. The adrenaline was beginning to wear off, and Kaiba's mind was clearing, although the blinding pain he was starting to feel was a hindrance.

"Mokuba!" Kaiba shouted suddenly. What if they had gotten to him? Face contorted in agony, Kaiba sprinted to his front door and swung it open. The head butler looked toward Kaiba, and turned ghost pale.

"Mokuba!" Kaiba shouted, unable to form any other words.

Instinctively, the butler understood. "He's upstairs, sir, he's fine."

Kaiba breathed a profound sigh of relief, and collapsed on the floor.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Yugi and his friends were gathered around the television, watching a rerun of Dragon Ball Z. Joey was getting excited, as Vegeta gloated over how he was going to defeat androids 18 and 17.

"Oh man, this is going to be sweet. He's going to own those two machines!" Joey shouted, hopping up onto the couch.

"Feet off the couch, Joey!" Tea reminded from the next room, as she was mircowaving a bag of popcorn.

"Joey, you've seen this episode three times already. He gets creamed!" Tristan admonished.

"Aw, let him dream Tristan!" Serenity retorted.

"We would, Serenity, but then he gets all depressed _again _when he loses." Duke commented passively.

Yugi simply chuckled, then reached for the phone as it started to ring. He was glad to have his friends together like this. It helped him take his mind off of the nameless threats he had been getting recently. A note in his locker, a message on his cell, a threatening letter, they had begun to add up, and he was uneasy about it. Somehow, he knew it had something to do with 'the other' him, but he didn't know what.

"Hello, Moto residence."

"Hello, Yugi? Can you come down to the mansion, Seto's been attacked and… and I'm afraid."

"Mokuba? I'll be right over." Yugi said, throwing on his jacket and standing up.

"What is it, Yug?" Joey asked.

"Kaiba's been attacked, and Mokuba's asked me to head down there."

From the kitchen, Tea asked, "Attacked? By who?"

"I don't know," Yugi replied, heading to the door, "But Mokuba sounded really shaken up. This looks bad."

"We'll come with you. Mokuba's our friend too." Tristan said, hopping off the couch.

Joey nodded, "Yeah, he's a good kid even if his brother is a jerk. We'll all come."

"Mokuba will be glad to see us." Serenity added.

"Yeah," said Duke, rising with a smirk, "And Kaiba won't, so I'm in too."

Yugi smiled. "Thanks guys. Alright, let's get going."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The group arrived at the Kaiba mansion and were ushered in by a ghastly looking butler. "Master Mokuba is down the hall, on the third door to your left. If there is anything I can do for you please don't hesitate to ask."

The group rushed down the hall and turn into the relatively small (given the above average size of rooms in the titanic mansion), immaculately white room, equipped with all the state of the art medical equipment. Mokuba was practically standing on a stool, next to a middle-aged doctor. What shocked them most was who they were hunkered over.

Kaiba was wearing nothing but a pair of black, cut-off shorts that were most likely his pants from earlier that day. The bed on which he lay was soaked red, and the sheets hung chaotically off of either side, stained with Kaiba's fleeting lifeblood. He was hooked up to at least half a dozen tubes, and the doctor was working furiously sewing up the various gashes on Kaiba's body. None of them, except perhaps Joey, had ever dreamed of seeing Kaiba in such a state. His torso was marred with over a dozen cuts, including two particularly vicious cuts in an extended 'X' on the left side of his chest. Some were covered in gauze, already stained a dark shade of red. Others were stitched, bound tightly in order to staunch the bleeding. To each of these, Mokuba was applying a liberal amount of a white lotion, and rubbing it in, firmly but delicately. The worst looking gash was on Kaiba's left leg, and it had already been sewn tightly. Kaiba had been sedated, but he was sweating profusely, adding to the acrid stench of the room.

Mokuba noticed their shocked faces and gave them an apologetic look. "Please wait in the living room. We're trying to stabilize him."

Yugi lead the group out of the room and they walked back to the main foyer. The butler was still waiting there, and shot them an expectant glance.

"How is he?" The butler asked, trepidation clear in his voice.

"It's… hard to say at this point." Yugi ventured. "The doctor's doing everything he can."

The butler nodded slowly, then gestured toward a door to the right of the entrance. "Perhaps you would care to wait in the living room?"

Yugi nodded, and the butler ushered the group in.

The room they found themselves in was enormous. It was painted a dark green, with wooden baseboards and a dark tan carpet. It was split into two main sections, one with a large entertainment centre surrounded by three large leather couches. The television itself was enormous, and the entire room was rigged with surround sound speakers. The second section of the room was filled with various games and gaming equipment. There was a full size pool table, a Blue-Eyes themed pinball machine, several arcade games and a card table that looked as though it had been stolen from a casino.

"Whoa, guys! Would you look at the size of that tv?" Joey yelled, running over to ogle the new object of his affection.

The rest were slightly more subdued. Tristan was more than eager to check out the arcade games, and Duke took a firm liking to the card table. Yugi and Tea sat on the couch, half out of exhaustion and half because they didn't trust Joey near the undoubtedly expensive entertainment centre. Serenity shuffled in and sat on one of the couches.

"Whoa, he's got the Resident Evil arcade game! I looked all over Domino for this thing!" Tristan shouted.

"You're telling me," Duke said running one hand over the table, "This is like, a five thousand dollar card table. They don't sell these commercially."

Yugi laughed as each of his friends checked out another piece of recreation equipment, nobody wanting to talk about the elephant in the room. Finally, he decided he had to breach the subject. "Who do you think could have done that?"

His comment had hit exactly what Serenity had been dwelling on. Every time she'd seen Kaiba, from the incident at the docks, to the blimp and even in Noah's virtual world, he had seemed so in charge, so in control, so… untouchable. And yet, now he was lying in the other room on the verge of death, clearly… touched. And the look on Mokuba's face had been heart-wrenching.

"Hard to say." It was Duke who had broken the awkward silence following the question each of them had been contemplating. "Kaiba's one tough guy. Mokuba will probably be able to shed some light on it."

"Damn, though, he's in rough shape." Tristan muttered. "Do you think he'll be okay?" He asked.

"Of course he will!" Joey answered, flopping down on one of the couches. "Kaiba's way too stubborn to just die."

Tea laughed, "You're probably right. He'd hate us talking about him like this."

Tristan hopped up and sat on the pool table. "Hard to say if there's anything he _likes_, though."

Yugi shrugged and motioned to the table. "Pool apparently."

Duke nodded toward the tv. "And I think tv's a fair bet too."

Joey hopped up and jumped in front of the tv. "Watch how you talk to the tv, she's my new lover."

They all broke out into a hearty laugh.

"Say, you alright Seren? You haven't said a word in a while." Joey asked.

"Uh, yeah." Serenity replied, "I'm just… a little shaken up. I would've never expected to see Kaiba of all people in such a state."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Duke added. "I guess he really is human. He bleeds and everything."

"All I know is it's probably just someone Kaiba pissed off. He's does that a lot, I'd say. Probably just someone he fired, y'know?" Joey said.

"I wouldn't be so sure…" Yugi sighed.

"Whaddaya mean, Yug?" Joey replied.

Yugi shook his head. "Nothing." He muttered. _Could this have something to do with the threats I've been getting? I can't just be a coincidence, can it?_

"H-hi… guys." Mokuba said, entering through a set of doors at the opposite side the gang had entered through.

"Mokuba." Yugi said, rising. "How is he?"

Mokuba took a few steps into the room and glanced around. The gang was spread out, but they were all focussed intently on him. "He's stabilizing, but he needs constant supervision. He's beat up pretty bad."

Tea looked at him with a soft expression across her face, "How are you?"

Mokuba was shivering, she realized. He pulled his eyes away from the floor, where they'd settled, and his eyes were already blurry with tears. "I'm scared." He rasped.

Tea ran over to him and hugged with gently. Yugi joined, and so did the others until they were one large group hug. Mokuba began to cry softly, until finally he stopped and the hug broke. Mokuba smiled. "Thanks, everyone. I really appreciate you being here. I don't know… don't know what I'd do if I had to be alone."

Mokuba cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair. "Dr. Watanabe is with Seto now, like I said he needs constant supervision, in case his breathing becomes erratic or he de-stabilizes, but he's going to need some rest soon, so I'm going to go watch him. Yugi, Duke, Tristan, could the three of you go over the security video and see what we can find out about the attackers? Kaiba's going to want information as soon as he comes to. Joey, Tea, Serenity, why don't you have Cecil, oh Cecil's the butler, by the way, have Cecil show you to the guest rooms, and give you a quick tour so you can help everyone else find their way. It's kind of easy to get lost in here. If anyone's willing, I'm going to need a replacement watching Seto in a couple of hours." He muttered.

Each nodded as their name was mentioned. Yugi smiled inwardly. Mokuba was definitely a Kaiba. If he hadn't expressed his emotions at the beginning of the encounter, he could've sworn it was Kaiba himself who'd given the orders. Mokuba motioned to a DVD player sitting on a shelf beside the colossal tv and muttered, "The security disc is in there." With that he moved to exit.

"Wait, security disc?" Duke asked. "Where was he attacked?"

Mokuba sighed. "Outside the front gate. I should fire the chief of security, but I don't think now's a good time. Besides, Seto will probably have something worse in mind, once he comes around."

"We didn't see anything outside the gate on our way in." Yugi commented.

"Yeah." Mokuba sighed again, "The police came through, cleared out the bodies and the limo."

"Bodies?" Tea this time.

Mokuba just gestured at the DVD player. "Watch the disc." He exited through the door he'd come in through.

The group gathered around in the couches and turned on the disc. It was set to the correct camera, at the appropriate time. What ensued was not at all what they had expected. Each of them visibly winced each time a serious hit was scored. They watched Kaiba execute the roll that ended in the cracking of the neck and ribs, and most likely paralysis of one of the assailants. The surround sound made the crack of the neck a particularly sickening experience. There were stifled groans, and 'Oohs' as the blade raked Kaiba's back from behind. Finally, they cringed as Kaiba ran his blade through the last assailant's shoulder. The assault ended, and Duke turned off the player.

There was a stunned silence for a few seconds before, "I guess that explains why he was in such bad shape." Joey commented dryly.

"Yeah… nice moves, though." Duke added.

They were diverted by the sound of a throat clearing from the door. "Would you care to be shown to the guest rooms now?" It was the butler, Watanabe.

"Yeah, sure." Joey said as he, Serenity and Tea made their way to the door they had entered from.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Serenity had volunteered to supervise Kaiba after Mokuba had come back, looking rather terrible, and asked for a replacement. Now that she was sitting there, she had no idea why. She didn't hate Kaiba like her brother, but she was uncomfortable seeing anyone in a state like Kaiba's. He had been unconscious since he'd collapsed on his own doorstep, and his breathing had to be regulated by a respirator. He was hooked up to two IV's, one helping to replace the massive amounts of blood he'd lost, the other administering a painkiller to try and allow him to sleep.

Serenity's job was to supervise, and to apply more of the white lotion they had seen Mokuba using every two hours to each wound. In between, it was nothing but silence, brooding and wondering how Kaiba could have ended up in such a state. She finally decided she couldn't stand watching the machine breathe rhythmically for him, so she got up to look around the room. She found there was a stereo on the wall, recessed into the wall, actually, with a collection of CDs.

"Hmm, what kind of music does the great Seto Kaiba listen to?" She wondered aloud as she browsed the CDs. Techno/Dance, Classical, Opera. "Guess he doesn't like words in music too… At least, not words in a language he can understand." She paused. Somehow, the thought of Kaiba speaking German and Italian didn't surprise her.

"Well, let's find something to at least generate some background noise. Hmm… how about this! Shubert: Unfinished Symphony. Sounds nice." She said, popping the CD into the player.

"Nice choice," said a raw voice from behind her.

Serenity nearly jumped out of her skin as she turned to see Kaiba, eyes slightly open, awake and looking at her.

"I… er, Mokuba… called us, and-"

Kaiba nodded his understanding, at least, as much as he could nod. "You won't like it though. It doesn't have a happy ending."

Serenity screwed up her face in confusion, "Huh?"

Kaiba motioned with one hand toward the CD player. "The symphony. The end of this movement is sad. You seem the happy ending type."

"Oh." Serenity said, sitting in the chair. Kaiba was silent, and she listened to the piece of music and found herself beginning to understand what Kaiba was talking about. The flow of the music shifted from happy to dark, and the ending seemed altogether tragic. She stood and walked to the CD player.

"I told you." Kaiba muttered. "Try Pachelbel's Cannon. It's probably more to your taste."

"Do you like music?" Serenity said, as she popped in the CD he had mentioned.

Kaiba was silent, but seemed to be trying to raise an eyebrow. His body was still recovering.

"Right." Serenity nodded, and mentally kicked herself for the stupid question. _Everyone likes music, and he wouldn't have the CD player if he didn't._

Serenity sat down again and strained her mind for something to talk about. The silence was becoming increasingly uncomfortable and she decided to go with the first topic to come to mind.

"So do you study martial arts or something? I saw the security video of you fighting those guys and you had some pretty good moves."

This time Kaiba managed the eyebrow raise.

_Stupid, Serenity, stupid! Yeah, he wants to talk about the attack while he's still bed-ridden from it. _She chuckled nervously and tried a topic change. "How's school going? You're in Joey's class, right?"

"Summer," was the one word out of Kaiba's mouth.

Again, Serenity kicked herself. This was getting ridiculous. Why was she getting so tongue-tied around the arrogant CEO. Finally, she came up with an idea, "How's business going? Any great new inventions from Kaiba Corp?"

She saw a glimmer in Kaiba's eye, and he cracked a genuine smile. Well, as genuine as a smile can be while on heavy painkillers. "I'm working on a new holographic motion simulator for Kaiba land. It's nearly done. I'm really excited." Now it was Kaiba's turn to kick himself. Why did he tell her that? It must be the painkillers. He simply wasn't up to being dark and reclusive when it felt like there were bunnies running through a field of roses in his head.

"Cool!" bubbled Serenity. She'd never been to Kaiba Land, but she passed it on the way to school and had always wondered what it'd be like to go.

Kaiba grunted and shut his eyes.

_That was weird. _Serenity thought to herself. _One minute he actually seems friendly for once, the next he's back to the great Seto Kaiba who speaks with no one._

"Good." She stated tersely, not sure whether she meant about him being grouchy or him going back to sleep. "You could use the rest." She added.

Inwardly, Kaiba grimaced. Tomorrow, he was coming off the painkillers, no matter what the doctor said. He knew it would be a few days before he was fully recovered, and Mokuba would want the nerd brigade around until then. It was going to be a long week.


	2. Kennel

A/N: Got the second chapter done pretty quickly. I've still got dozens of ideas bouncing around and not sure which will find their way into the actual story. I've only received one review so far, but it was very encouraging. Thanks for the input!

**Disclaimer: **There's a lot this time… to put it simply, I don't own the rights to anything. I do, however, own some Pizza Pops. Yummy.

**Chapter Two: Kennel**

Yugi had finally persuaded Mokuba to leave the sleeping Kaiba and eat breakfast with the gang. Everyone had agreed the Mokuba needed to relax for a while and get his mind off of his injured brother. He was in surprisingly high spirits, especially since Serenity had told him Kaiba had been conscious for a while yesterday.

The gang had helped themselves to Mokuba's stockpile of cereals. The actual kitchen in the residence had very little in the way of food. "Most of the cooking is done in the servant's residence out back." Mokuba had explained.

The kitchen itself adjoined the dining room, which was very seldom used, as it was large, fairly empty and echoey. Two sides of the kitchen were walled in and covered in various cabinets, appliances and one large window. The other two walls of the kitchen were countertops, black marble to accent the white and chrome of the rest of the room, lined with barstools.

At the moment, Joey was in the process of relating a rather lengthy story about his encounter with the vice principal at their school. He was standing atop one of the bar stools, with everyone gathered round and watching him. It was then that Kaiba chose to make his appearance, bedraggled and dishevelled, Kaiba's attempts to clean himself before leaving his sickbed had obviously not been successful. He took a glance at the group, and then headed for the fridge.

"Seto! You shouldn't be out of bed!" Mokuba scolded.

"Ridiculous," was Kaiba's one word retort.

Kaiba was aware that all eyes were silently on him as he poured himself a glass of lemonade and placed it on a counter separate from the rest of the group. Then, reaching into his freezer, he pulled out a small plastic package. Proceeding to a featureless black slab on the wall, he pushed it in and it popped out, revealing that it was, in fact, a microwave. He tore the package and shoved the contents in, then walked to his espresso machine. "Pizza pops, two." He stated simply, and the microwave sprung to life. He took a hit of espresso, and poured another as he made his way to the stool where he had placed his lemonade.

Gradually, his eyes slid to the gang, Joey still poised precariously on the stool, arms in the same exact position they had been in when Kaiba had entered. He hated them seeing him like this, but at least their fear of him was intact. He muttered something under his breath.

"What was that, Kaiba?" Duke asked.

Kaiba turned and looked deliberately at Joey, then said in a clear, loud voice, "I said that I didn't recall putting in a kennel."

The cobalt-eyed billionaire had expected a retort, but he had not expected it to come from the tiny, mild mannered Serenity, "Listen, Kaiba! You may not want us here, but damnit, Mokuba does. This is hard enough on him, so if you give one god damn about him you should try to make nice, alright?"

Kaiba looked at the girl and raised an eyebrow, amused that she could be genuinely forceful. "You're right." He said, sipping his lemonade, then smirking, "That's why I said it under my breath."

Serenity huffed and sat down. Joey hopped off his chair and returned to his cereal. "Looks like moneybags is back to normal." He muttered.

The microwave gave off a sound, indicating it was finished, and Kaiba stood and retrieved his breakfast. Sitting, he returned his gaze to where Mokuba sat in the thick of the group. "Mokuba!" He barked, and Mokuba ran over to him. "What do we know?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Seto Kaiba was back, though not at full strength. Leaning back in his chair behind his desk in his office, he was in his element. Duke, Yugi, Tristan and Mokuba were there too, going over with him what they had gleaned from going over the security video.

"We can tell that they were trained, but not professionals." Yugi started.

"Why not professionals?" Kaiba asked passively.

Tristan closed his eyes and scratched the back of his head, "To be honest? 'Cuz you're still alive. No offence, we've seen what you can do, but against four professional hit men, no one person could survive."

Kaiba grunted, and then "Point taken."

Tristan relaxed visibly. Even in his present condition, there wasn't one amongst them who was truly unafraid of Kaiba. Yugi continued, showing the shot they had cropped earlier from the digital video.

"As you can see here, they appear to bear the insignia of the Ghouls." Yugi stated, pointing to the cloak hood on the large plasma screen on Kaiba's office wall.

"Ghouls?" Kaiba asked, surprised, "Wasn't Marik their leader? And didn't you make nice with him after that whole…" he waved his hand in the air, while hunting for the word, "affair."

Yugi nodded. "That's why we find that so surprising."

Duke stole a glance at Yugi and they nodded at each other, each wondering if Marik's dark side was back, and if so, with what possible repercussions.

Then Mokuba chimed in, "Our sources on the street tell me that gang activity is increasing again. It's possible that the Ghouls are operating again, and possibly looking for vengeance after they were crushed in Battle City."

Kaiba nodded, "The three I incapacitated," he began, "Have they been of any use thus far?"

"Actually…" Tristan began, sweatdropping again.

"They were 'lost in transit', according to the cops we talked to. Someone hijacked the meat wagon they were on." Mokuba finished for him.

"Figures." Kaiba said, starting to rise to his feet, then visibly wincing and reconsidering the action, sitting back down in his chair. "Anything else?"

"Yeah." Duke said, "We think there's an insider."

That piqued Kaiba's interest, "What!"

Duke indicated the fried control on the gate. "There were four men perched on your wall, the gate control was destroyed, the circuit broken and nobody in security thought to check it out? It seems fishy."

Yugi nodded. "The Ghouls are no amateurs. There's a good chance there's a man inside."

A grunt issued forth from the seated Kaiba. "Great. Mokuba, how many people do we have on staff?"

Mokuba checked a clipboard he was holding, "Twenty-one living in the servant's house, nine occasional workers." He replied.

"Great." Kaiba said again, deadpan. "How many do we know we can trust?"

"Three." Mokuba stated. "Watanabe, Cecil and Derek."

Kaiba nodded. "Start finding replacements for everyone else."

Yugi, Duke and Tristan looked at each other. Kaiba looked up at the group, noticing their discomfort. "If there's nothing else, you may go."

The three shuffled out the door, closing it quietly behind them. True to his plan, Kaiba had cut off the painkillers, against Dr. Watanabe's orders, and as a result everyone around his mansion was walking on eggshells. With the others out of the room, Kaiba turned to Mokuba.

"How are you?" He asked his younger brother.

"I'm… I'm alright." Mokuba said shakily.

"Mokuba," Kaiba said, "Don't lie to me."

"Fine…" Mokuba admitted, "I'm really scared. I mean, I know you're tough, but seeing even you get hurt like that… I don't know what I'd do if they took you away from me, Seto."

Wincing through the pain, Kaiba stood and hugged his brother gently. "Mokuba… nobody could take me away from you. I'd fight through hell to protect you. You know that."

Mokuba nodded wordlessly and hugged his brother back, not realizing the agony his brother was in because of the force of even his gentle hug on his wounds. Kaiba was not about to break the hug because of his injuries. He could be stoic for Mokuba. He owed his brother that much.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A simple game of pool had been the plan, after all, the table was so nice and it was just _sitting _there. Now, Tristan owed Duke seventy-five bucks, and they were only on their third game.

"Give it up, Tristan, I don't really _need _to take any more of your money, you know."

"Cram it, Duke." Tristan snapped, dusting his cue. "I'll win that back and more. Just you watch me."

"Alright… I'll watch you lose if you like." Duke retorted.

The game, in fact, had turned into a contest of machismo, as both Serenity and Tea were watching. Joey and Yugi couldn't have cared less, engaging in a game of Soul Calibur 2 on Kaiba's PS2, hooked up to the enormous television Joey had drafted plans to steal. Mokuba walked into the room and smiled, happy to see all of his friends in the same room and having a good time. He hopped over to the couch.

"Called winner!" Mokuba shouted, sitting behind Yugi to get a good view of the match.

"Sure thing, Mokuba. Just as soon as I'm done trouncing Joey."

"Oh yeah, well at least I don't play with a girl character!" Joey shot back.

"Joey, Necrid's a big spiky monster thing, how can you tell?" Yugi asked as he executed the finishing combo.

"'Cuz you have to be female to be a bitch like that." Joey pouted, dropping the controller on the floor.

"Alright!" Mokuba yelled, picking up the controller and sliding onto the floor. "I never beat Seto! Maybe I can beat you!"

"Good luck, Mokuba." Joey said dryly, "He fights dirty."

Mokuba selected Nightmare. Yugi went with his usual: Necrid. The match began, and Yugi couldn't see Mokuba's hands anymore. Hit with a flurry of combos, Yugi could do very little but watch. Managing one attack, he wasn't surprised to find it guard-impacted and then countered. He dropped his controller in defeat.

"And you _don't_ beat Kaiba?"

Mokuba laughed, one of the first times in days, and stated, "He uses Raphael. He has that stupid dodge combo and I can never _hit _the jerk."

Joey and Yugi laughed along with Mokuba, glad the kid seemed finally to be relaxing.

"What's so funny?" Tea asked, turning around. Tristan owed Duke an even hundred now, but Duke had agreed to drop it if Tristan told Kaiba he looked 'very pretty today' the next time they were in the same room. Tristan hoped Joey or Yugi would lend him the hundred.

"Nothing, nothing." Mokuba said. "Guys, thanks again for being here." He added.

Tristan smiled, walking over to the couch where they were seated. "Hey, no problem, but just to return the favour, could you lend me a hundred bucks?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Kaiba was standing on his third floor balcony, placed at the end of the central stairs that ran like a spine through the middle from his house and not far from any given room within the mansion. It was eleven o'clock p.m., and he was unable to sleep. The searing pain that was sparked whenever he moved, or worse, touched something, would not allow him to lie down, never mind sleep. Still, he refused to use the painkillers again. Addiction was part of Kaiba's personality, but never in conjunction with substances.

Serenity had been wandering herself, also unable to sleep. She had been forced to share a room with Tea, since there were only three guest rooms, and, unbeknownst to most, Tea _really _snored. Finally, she found her way to the balcony, surprised to find Kaiba standing on it and drinking… what was it? Lemonade. He seemed to like that drink.

"Kaiba!" She scolded, "You of all people should be in bed."

Kaiba shrugged, not bothering to take his eyes off of whatever he was staring at. Another awkward silence ensued, and Serenity finally decided to ask him the question she'd been itching to ask for a while.

"Kaiba? Why is it you keep challenging Yugi?"

Kaiba finally turned to look down at the girl (and being more than a foot taller than her, he did have to look _down_) and raised an eyebrow. He stared for a moment, then turned back to whatever he was staring at. "You wouldn't understand."

Serenity pouted, "Well I'm not _gonna _understand if you don't at least try to explain it to me?"

He thought about that for awhile, then realized how to explain it. "You're a student, right?"

_He's changing the subject, _the red haired girl thought, frustrated, _but fine, if he wants to be that way. At least he's courteous enough to want to talk about me. _"Yeah."

"What are you studying?" He asked, the question clearly planned.

She paused, then finally, "Mainly science. Biology."

"Why?" He asked, continuing his line of questioning. "Do you want to go to college or university?"

"Yeah." She answered, not entirely comfortable with where this was going. The shorter girl hated that she had to look up to Kaiba to meet his gaze.

Kaiba rolled his eyes, she still didn't see what he was getting at. "What do you want to study for? What do you want to be?"

Brown-eyed girl hesitated, and Kaiba turned and raised an eyebrow. Their eyes met, and Serenity smiled. He had nice eyes. "An optometrist." She said, finally. She didn't know why she was telling the shadow of a person standing beside her that. She hadn't really told anybody yet.

Kaiba nodded his approval, remembering that this was the girl that was just coming out of eye surgery when he had met her at Battle City. He recalled the nerd brigade saying something about her being nearly blind. Surely, he could understand her motivations. "That makes sense. So you want to be an optometrist?" She nodded. "But you're not."

She recoiled, offended. "I could be!"

Kaiba rolled his eyes again, "I'm not saying that you couldn't be. I'm saying that you aren't. You're striving to be something more than what you are. I'm the same thing. Right now, I'm the second rated duelist in the world. _When _I defeat Yugi. I'll be the first." He sighed, thinking this was fairly fundamental, "It's life." He said simply, "You seek out the next challenge, and overcome it. When I was the first rated duelist, I spent a lot of my spare time challenging new, up-and-coming duelists, searching for someone to be a challenge. Yugi is that challenge. I'll beat him, and then I'll move on to the next challenge. That's all there is to it."

Serenity nodded slowly, digesting the words, then commented, "Kind of like how Joey keeps challenging you and Yugi even though he never wins?"

Kaiba frowned. Here, he thought he could have a decent conversation with the mutt's sister and she had to bring him up. "Your mutt brother ought to start a few rungs lower. Yugi and I are both way out of his league. Maybe he'd have better luck with an opponent only slightly above his skill level. They can train monkeys to play Duel Monsters, can't they?"

This time Serenity rolled her eyes, "Can't go ten minutes without being a complete jerk, eh?"

Kaiba turned, seeing her flushed and clearly angry. _She's kind of cute when she's angry, _he thought snidely. "I consider it better than lying."

"Even if it's just to spare someone's feelings? You could've just left it, y'know?" She shouted at him, furious for making her think he wasn't so bad. "I can't believe I thought for one second you weren't the asshole everyone makes you out to be!" And with that the fiery redhead stormed off.

Kaiba was shocked to find he felt somewhat bad about the encounter. The younger Wheeler didn't seem as much of an idiot as her brother, and they'd almost had an intelligent conversation (mainly because he'd done most of the talking, but even still). Still, she was a Wheeler. The end to their conversation had been inevitable. In his mind, at least.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Joey was surprised to find himself treating the next day somewhat like Christmas. He had woken up early to sneak down to Kaiba's living room and grab the tv, Tess, as he had named her, before anyone could beat him to it. He was surprised to find Kaiba himself playing video games even before him. Joey was unaware, but Kaiba hadn't slept at all that night. Kaiba was playing on his Gamecube, navigating his way through Resident Evil 4, shooting evil villagers with a shotgun to release stress.

"Surprised to see you up this early, Wheeler. Trying to catch the mailman? They're trained to avoid mutts like you."

"Cram it, Kaiba!" Joey yelled, "I… I wanted to play some video games. After all, I've been separated from mine while I'm staying here."

"Oh? What video games do you play, Wheeler? No wait, let me guess. A mind as simple as yours wouldn't be likely to hand anything more than a first person shooter. Am I right? Or does your mind go so far as to delve the depths of the sports game as well?"

"Cram it! Besides, you're one to knock shooters while your playing one."

"Survival/horror, mutt." He said disinterestedly, "You'd probably hide under your bed covers. If you could follow what was going on, that is."

By now, Duke had made his way down to the living room, still groggy and half awake. He looked at the screen, "Resident Evil. Nice choice."

Both Joey and Kaiba ignored Duke. "I could school you at any game." Joey snapped at Kaiba.

Duke rolled his eyes, he knew where this was going.

"That a challenge, fido?" Kaiba asked, turning to look at Joey with a sceptical look on his face. Duke watched in amazement, as he kept shooting –and hitting- without _looking _at the screen.

"You're damn right it is, moneybags!"

"Name your game." Kaiba said simply, gesturing to his rather large assortment of video games. Joey turned and started browsing. Kaiba started hunting for a save post.

Tea strolled into the room, "Oh, morning all! Hey, Kaiba, you're up early!"

"Here!" shouted Joey as he pulled a copy of Need for Speed Underground out of the collection of games. "I'm the king of racing games!"

Realizing what was going on, Tea looked sceptically at Joey. "Joey, are you _sure _you want to challenge Kaiba at his own game in his own home?"

"Eh, old stick-up-his-ass here can't beat me at a racing game. C'mon, Tea, you've seen me play!" Joey retorted, placing his hands proudly on his hips.

"Play what?" Yugi asked, strolling into the room in his pajamas.

"Joey's challenging Kaiba _again_." Duke said, rolling his eyes as he sat on one of the large leather couches. "This time it's Need for Speed."

"Come on, Rover, are we playing or not?" Kaiba asked, looking over at a rather annoyed Joey.

"Course! I wouldn't let you off that easy." Joey said, tossing Kaiba the game and grabbing a controller.

"Right," was the monosyllable reply from the brunette.

Tristan entered the scene while both were still busy customizing their vehicles. Kaiba had long ago unlocked every possible upgrade, and each spent time choosing their ideal options. Joey's rather tacky orange and purple sports car, covered in every possible area by decals stood in sharp relief to Kaiba's gunmetal coloured, understated car.

"Oh, great, what this time?" Tristan asked, sitting atop the couch to get a good view of the coming confrontation.

"Kaiba's really awakened the beast this time." Yugi said with a chuckle, "He insulted Joey's skill at video games."

"Watch out!" Tristan cried sarcastically, "When you have as little of a life as Joey has, you get darn good at those things."

"Say what you will," Kaiba said with a smirk, "I could beat this amateur with my eyes closed."

Finally, the race was ready to begin. Everyone except Mokuba and Serenity, who had been late getting to bed, was gathered round, anxious to see if Joey had finally found something he could beat Kaiba at. The race started, and Kaiba was off to an early lead. It was a two-lap race, so Kaiba had sacrificed a high top speed in favour of good acceleration. It also allowed him some leeway for collisions. Traffic was set on high, and he had a sneaking suspicion there'd be at least one frontal collision this race.

Mokuba had found his way into the room, quickly picking up all of the details from the other spectators. The two racers seemed intensely focussed. "C'mon, Seto, trash him." Mokuba said, happy to see his brother out of bed and lively again.

Kaiba was out of practice. Missing several of the shortcuts that Joey hit, his lead was cut considerably, and Joey was getting closer to fifth gear and his significantly higher maximum speed. They were already beginning the second lap, and Joey was less than three seconds behind Kaiba.

Yawning, Serenity finally made her appearance. She couldn't help but giggle as she saw her brother and his 'hated enemy' Seto Kaiba street racing in a video game against each other. The tension had become so high, and everyone was so focussed that they were each leaning into the curves as the racers, now neck-and-neck, whizzed past them, adding to the hilarity of the spectacle.

Coming up fast on the end of the race, Joey was narrowly in the lead. Confident he could maintain the lead he manualed into fifth gear and started cutting his corners. Kaiba didn't seem nervous, however. Coming to the exit that led to the finish line, only the front end of Joey's car was in front of Kaiba's. Just as the two came on the exit, Kaiba swerved into Joey and Joey's front end hit the divider square, stopping him dead. Kaiba cruised through the finish line, officially fifteen seconds ahead.

"And so you lose." Kaiba said, rising to his feet. He was suddenly uncomfortable with the number of people in the room. Besides, he had work to get back to.

Joey hopped to his feet in a rage. "No fair! You cheated, you no good dirty…"

"It's a perfectly legitimate tactic." Kaiba stated simply, as he brushed past Joey. "You might've won if you'd thought of it first."

Serenity giggled as Joey raged at a disinterested Kaiba. Just last night the man had seemed a total ass, and yet here he was playing video games with her older brother and having the same arguments Joey and Tristan had. Chuckling softly to herself, she enjoyed the scene, a seemingly normal fraternal squabble between her brother and his avowed enemy. Kaiba was a hard man to figure out, she decided to herself. There was probably a lot more to him than any of them gave him credit for.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Seto Kaiba found his way back to his office and sat down in his office chair, setting out his laptop, grimacing with the exertion. He had no idea why he'd entertained the mutt's stupid challenge other than that he enjoyed stomping the brash fool back into the dirt. In fact, he didn't know why he still entertained the nerd brigade in his mansion. _His _mansion. He had permitted them because they comforted Mokuba, and comfort was something Mokuba had been lacking since the attack. Still, Kaiba was up and able again, though in a limited capacity. Tomorrow, the gang would have to go.


	3. Understanding

A/N: I was really worried about this chapter, but it came together really well (I think). Thanks to everyone who took the time to review, I really appreciate it! Nothing negative so far, so I guess I'm doing alright.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing! I do, however, wish I owned one of the BMW Z4 roadsters that Kaiba drives in this chapter. HOT!

**Chapter Three: Understanding**

"They have to go, Mokuba. Today. I'm fine, and they're becoming a nuisance. It's getting difficult to work with them here." Kaiba stated matter-of-factly.

"But I like them. It's fun having them here!" Mokuba whined to his brother.

"Mokuba, I've made up my mind. It's useless to try to dissuade me."

Mokuba pouted and stormed out of his brother's office. He had known they'd have to leave, but he hadn't expected it to be so soon. Nevertheless, Kaiba was resolute about returning to his anti-social routine. Mokuba shuffled downstairs and into the living room, lost in thought about how to tell them Kaiba was giving them the boot. He'd wait till the evening. After all, Seto had only said they had to go 'today'.

As usual, they were assembled in the living room. Tristan and Duke were engaged in another contest for Serenity's attention. This time the game was Katamari Damacy, one of Mokuba's picks. Serenity could barely contain her laughter at the sheer ridiculousness of the challenge. Yugi was at Kaiba's pinball game, Joey and Tea cheering him on as he approached Kaiba's high score. Mokuba walked in distractedly, making his way to his favourite arcade game to play a round.

Serenity noticed Mokuba enter the room, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. She tore herself away from the spectacle of Tristan and Duke competing over who could roll up the most cows to make her way over to Mokuba, mindlessly firing his light pistol at terrorists.

"Something the matter, Mokuba?" She asked tentatively.

"Nah." He said, firing again and loading quickly. "I'm okay. I'm just bummed Seto's going to kick you guys out soon."

"Thought so." Serenity said simply, "It's too bad really. I think he was starting to enjoy having us around. After all, he was playing video games with Joey yesterday."

"He's probably having a good time," Mokuba said with a chuckle, "Not that he'd ever admit that. Especially to himself."

"He does seem pretty set against being happy." She muttered, not wanting to render a snap judgement but using what she'd seen of Kaiba.

"No, not really." Mokuba replied, loading again and prepping himself for the next round of terrorists, "He just doesn't really like people. Thinks they're inconsistent. Unreliable I guess." He glanced over his shoulder at Serenity. _A friend like her would be good for Seto. Maybe I'll have to give them both a bump in the right direction_, "He's not a bad guy once you get to know him."

"Few people are, I find," she said with a smile and skipped out of the room. She was going to have a talk with Kaiba.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Hi, Mr. Kaiba!" Serenity chirped as she stood in the doorway of Kaiba's home office.

He looked up at her irritably and waited. Lack of sleep combined with his injuries had made him particularly irate. When she didn't say anything, he gruffly asked, "What?" They should have been out of his house already.

"I understand you want us to leave the house today?" She asked, deciding it was the correct place to start.

"No," he said, annoyance clear in his voice, "I never wanted you here to begin with. I'll settle for you leaving today."

"Y'know," she said slyly, tilting her head as she leaned against the wall, "If you want us to stay we can. We don't mind."

"What on earth would give you the impression I was enjoying having you here?" He snapped, now thoroughly tired of the conversation.

"I don't know," she smirked, "You seemed enjoy playing video games with Joey yesterday. And you also seemed to enjoy having the extra excitement around the house. I'd imagine it gets pretty lonely around here. Big house, just the two of you."

"I have twenty-one permanent staff members, Wheeler, and I don't enjoy company to begin with. Now, if you don't mind," he sneered as he added 'if you don't mind', clearly intending the words to be ironic, "leave me alone so I can get some work done."

"I do mind. We don't always have to be your brother's friends and your enemies, Kaiba. We're not bad people once you get to know us." She said, honestly hoping he'd at least take her up on that offer.

Kaiba's patience finally wore out; he slammed the top of his laptop down and glared daggers at the younger Wheeler. "Listen. I don't want you here. I don't want your friendship. I want some peace and quiet so I can finally get some _goddamn _work done! Now, your highness, would you get your royal ass the hell out of my office and the hell off of my property?"

Serenity flushed red in the face, "You _are _an asshole, you know that? I'm trying to be _nice _to you and you act like I'm tormenting you. Fine. I'll leave. But don't expect us to leap at the opportunity to help you again."

Blue-eyes grunted and opened his laptop again as she moved for the door. "You'll be compensated for your trouble." He said in a flat monotone.

Serenity turned around, determined to have the last words, "You know, Kaiba. You can't pay us to not be your friends." With that she stormed out.

_At least that one has a backbone, _Kaiba thought to himself as he returned to his work; _Still, she's a bit too stubborn for my tastes. Perhaps the half-wit Taylor would be a better selection for the position._

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The gang was standing in the foyer of the mansion, saying their farewells to Mokuba and Cecil. Kaiba had chosen not to join them for supper, but had asked Cecil to inform him when the group was leaving. Having left his office, Kaiba navigated his way to the main stairwell, inwardly grimacing at the coming encounter. Finally, he found his way to the first floor.

"Hey Kaiba!" Yugi called, waving as Kaiba made his way down the stairs. "Come to see us off?"

A look passed between Duke and Tristan. The dice master elbowed Tristan in the stomach, and finally Tristan turned toward the elder Kaiba. "Kaiba! You're looking very pretty today!" He blurted, and then winced in anticipation.

Kaiba looked dumbfounded and simply stared in disbelief at Tristan. After an extremely uncomfortable silence, he finally managed to find the words, "What the hell was that, Taylor?"

A large sweatdrop formed on the back of Tristan's head and he bowed apologetically. "I'm sorry, I lost a bet and… and Duke made me say it!"

Duke flicked Tristan's ear, "You're not supposed to _tell him_¸ retard!" He complained.

Looking very uncomfortable, Kaiba turned toward Serenity. "Wheeler, I want to talk to you in private."

A grin found it's way to Serenity's face. Maybe she'd actually gotten through to the abrasive stoic. "Sure. Living room?" She asked.

Kaiba nodded. "Fine." He strode into the living room, glancing over his shoulder to shoot a disgusted look at the humiliated Tristan.

As soon as Kaiba had left the room it erupted in laughter. "I can't believe you actually _did _it!" Duke managed, holding his sides in pain.

"Oh God!" Tea chortled, nearly crying from the tears, "The look on his face was priceless!"

Even Mokuba couldn't keep a straight face. "Oh man… Seto's going to be pissed for days about that one! You've got guts Tristan, I'll give you that."

Tristan simply scratched the back of his head and blushed. "Aw man… that was so humiliating…"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"What did you want to see me about, Kaiba?" Serenity asked, trying to hold back an I-told-you-so tone.

"Listen, the fact of the matter is that I'm still not back to perfect shape yet. I'm going to be spending a lot of time going back and forth from Kaiba Corp headquarters and Mokuba still hasn't calmed down since the incident." He stated, monotone, as he bridged his fingers together and looked over at the short girl where she was seated across the card table from him. The card table had seemed the logical choice to him at the time, now it seemed rather ridiculous. He shifted uncomfortably in the chair, trying to phrase his offer correctly.

"Alright." She said in a 'get-on-with-it' tone as she tried to hold back a smirk. He was going to ask them to stay, she knew it.

"Since I can't be here to assuage his fears, it's then necessary for me to ensure that there is someone who can. If you're interested, I'd like to hire you part time as a sort of nanny to look after him while I'm away. I understand that the two of you are…" he hated the next word, "friends, and I felt that connection would further comfort him in my absence. It would be fairly short term, but I'd be willing to pay you one thousand dollars a week for the duration of the position."

Now Serenity was confused. He wanted to _hire _her to do what she'd been doing for the last three days for free? The man was unbelievable. He seemed to be back to the remote, untouchable Kaiba she'd seen before. But, no, she'd made too much progress to be repelled so easily. But first, she wanted to know one thing.

"Why me?" She asked casually.

"You're the most tolerable of the particular group Mokuba has taken a liking to. I had thought to ask Taylor, but since that incident just now, I think I'd have to install shower locks and hire someone to supervise _him _around my brother. Besides, Mokuba likes you. Will you take the position?"

She smiled slightly at the backhanded compliment she'd received from Kaiba, and chuckled inwardly at the thought of the incident in the foyer. A great sense of humour was one of Duke's best attributes, and that had been some of his best work. "I'll do the job pending one condition." She stated simply.

"Being?" The professional setting made Kaiba more comfortable. Things were easier when they could be handled in a professional manner.

Serenity smirked. This would either make or break the budding friendship between her and the social midget known as Seto Kaiba, "That you don't pay me for the service, and accept it as a personal favour from a friend."

A look of startled confusion crossed Kaiba's face, followed by one of frustrated fury. Searching for the words to voice his frustration, annoyance and wrath, he opened his mouth and then closed it wordlessly several times. Serenity grinned mischievously, "I'll take that as a yes. When should I be here tomorrow?"

By this point, Seto had realized the girl had him stuck. He had no way out of the situation without sacrificing something. Finally, he decided he'd settle for her terms, but never voice that he was admitting to them. He'd save some measure of dignity, and still get what he needed from her. "I leave for work at eight. Be here by then."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Serenity showed up in a bright mood five minutes before eight. She skipped into the main foyer and found Cecil waiting for her.

"Good morning, Miss Serenity. Master Kaiba told me you'd be stopping by. He also told me he wishes to speak with you before he leaves. He's in the kitchen now. Can you find it yourself?" The butler asked in his usual formal tone.

"Yeah, sure can. Thanks." She said and gave the butler a slight hug. Everyone had gotten to know Cecil over their time in the mansion and Serenity especially had developed a soft spot for the aging servant.

The entire kitchen smelt of coffee, she noted as she walked into the room. Kaiba was standing at the counter by his espresso machine, grumbling to himself as he fumbled with the mechanisms.

"Uhm, Kaiba?" Serenity asked in a cautious tone.

"Just a minute. This damn contraption's gone haywire again." He grumbled. Groaning in annoyance, he smacked the side of the machine with his flat hand. Instantly, it started giving off a dull mechanical hum. Kaiba gave an exasperated sigh, "Why does that always work?" he asked rhetorically. He knew almost everything there was to know about conventional mechanics, and yet the 'hit it' tactic always seemed to work for some reason. He turned to Serenity. "Good. You're here."

"Yeah…" Serenity said, leaning to get a glance at the machine behind Kaiba. It had malfunctioned that morning, resulting in the head chef Derek getting a particularly _hot _shower that morning, and giving him an odour of strong coffee that would take a week to get rid of. Kaiba had spent the better part of his breakfast time taking apart, repairing and reassembling the machine only for it to not work once it had been reconstructed. "You wanted to talk to me about something?" she asked, shifting her focus back to Kaiba.

Kaiba nodded, finally pouring his first cup of espresso for the morning, "I forgot to mention yesterday the other reason why I hired-"

"Asked." Serenity corrected. The nature of this transaction was very important to her.

"Yes," Kaiba said, clearing his throat, "Asked you to do this job-"

"Favour." Serenity corrected again, a smirk playing at her face.

"-for me." Kaiba finished, refusing to use _that_ word. "We still haven't found who was responsible for the attack. Obviously, someone has some kind of vendetta against me, and until I've gotten to the bottom of it, I want Mokuba to stay within the mansion. So, in addition to looking after my brother and keeping him company, I'd like you to see to it that he remains on the premise. I don't want to put him at any risk. Do you understand?"

Serenity nodded. "Sure thing, Kaiba. Anything else."

"That's all." Kaiba said, brushing past Serenity and striding to the door. Upon reaching it, he paused. He hated what he was about to say, but he supposed he owed it to her and her attempts to be his friend. "You can use my first name if you please." He added, and, not waiting to hear her reply, he walked off to find his limo.

At this point, Serenity was smiling broadly. Kaiba… Seto was finally coming around. Well, she supposed she'd better find Mokuba. She was glad Kaiba was becoming more comfortable, but she was starting to regret turning down the one-grand-a-week job offer. She could _really _use the money.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Joey Wheeler wrinkled his nose as he walked through the alleyway behind a rather questionable Chinese restaurant. He took this route home every time he walked to Yugi's house, but the alley was always repugnant. Still, it cut fifteen minutes off of the walk home, and his mother always scolded him when he was late. Yugi had seemed distracted this time, though. He knew that something was wearing on Yugi's mind. Keeping secrets was Yugi's style, though. He'd tell Joey when he was good and ready.

Suddenly, Joey noticed movement in the alley ahead of him. Cautiously, he proceeded forward. "Hello?" he called nervously, "Anybody out there?"

Joey was answered, with a rough laugh, and saw a cloaked man step out of the shadows in front of him. The tactic was familiar, to him, he'd been a bully himself, and he already knew that someone was behind him. Rolling up his sleeves, Joey glowered at the Ghoul in front of him, "You looking for a fight?"

"No." The Ghoul said, looking up and Joey with a sneer on his face, "I've already found one."

Instinctively, Joey dropped to a knee and the ghoul from behind barrelled over Joey. He rose and delivered an elbow blow to the Ghoul's back, sending him down on his knees. Suddenly, Joey felt himself lurch forward. There had been two behind him, and the second had hamfisted him in the neck. Joey wheeled around on this second attack and drove a punch at his face. Expecting the attack, the second Ghoul easily blocked and drove his own punch at Joey, catching him on the jaw.

As he staggered backward, Joey realized the third was closing in on him, probably at a run. Joey shifted right and held out his arm, clotheslining the third attacker, who fell to the ground where the first had lay a second earlier. Hearing him hit hard concrete instead of soft flesh, Joey knew the third was up again.

Clearly outnumbered, Joey knew when to retreat. He leapt atop a nearby trashcan and used that to vault onto the fire escape of the restaurant. It took a scramble to get his legs up, but once onto the fire escape Joey scrambled to the roof of the building. Unsure of where to go from there, Joey took a cursory scan of the rooftop. His heart sank.

There was another Ghoul waiting for him atop the rooftop. This one appeared to be in better shape than the three he had left in the alley. Easily six and a half feet tall, the Ghoul's robe barely came down to his ankles. Draped off of his broad shoulders, the robe obscured any visual glance at the Ghoul, and obscured any details besides his obvious physical prowess.

"A daring escape, Joey Wheeler." The Ghoul said, his voice dripping with venom.

"It will be!" Joey yelled, and charged the Ghoul. Leaping into the air, Joey aimed to deliver a driving dropkick to his antagonist. Grabbing Joey's legs, the Ghoul used Joey's forward momentum to twist and drive Joey into the wall. Dazed, Joey collapsed to the ground, coughing up a mouthful of blood. The Ghoul triumphantly towered over the downed Joey.

"If you come to," the Ghoul said, emphasizing the 'if' in his sentence, "let your friend Yugi know that the Ghouls have returned, and we're out for blood."

The last thing Joey saw was the Ghoul draw back his fist.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Serenity had spent the better part of her day goofing around with Mokuba in the mansion. He was a particularly energetic kid, even for his age, and was particularly fond of practical jokes. She'd had to learn to take anything he said with a grain of salt. Finally, he'd talked her into a game of tag. Serenity had been ambushed by Mokuba, most likely because Mokuba knew his way around so much better, and was in a dead run to escape the boy. They'd whipped around the corner and up the stairs, ignoring a shouted 'Don't run indoors!' from Cecil as they'd passed him. Serenity ran to the top of the stairs, giggling fiercely the whole time, and darted to the left. Mokuba, laughing a boyish laugh, chased in a dead heat. It was decision time, and Serenity picked the door at the end of the hall, diving through the door and hoping that it had another exit.

Barrelling through the door, Serenity stopped dead in her tracks. She was in Kaiba's office, and so was he. Not expecting her to stop, Mokuba ploughed into Serenity's back and the two of them collapsed in a heap on the floor. Serenity, blushed in embarrassment, thinking that _now _Kaiba was really going to let her have it.

Looking at the spectacle from behind his desk, Kaiba merely cracked a smile. "Good, Mokuba, you're here. There's something I want to ask you about."

Mokuba rose nonchalantly to his feet and dusted himself off. "Uh, sure Seto. What's up?"

Kaiba glanced from Mokuba to the still floored Serenity, "She okay?" He asked casually.

"Fine!" Serenity called as she pried herself off of the floor. "Fine."

Nodding, Kaiba hit a few keys on his laptop then glanced back at Mokuba. "I've been working on the visual component of the latest Kaiba Land motion simulator, as you know…"

"We use motion simulators instead of roller coasters in Kaiba Land because Japanese land is limited, and also really expensive." Mokuba explained to Serenity, who nodded in understanding. "So, which is this one?" Mokuba asked, turning back to Kaiba.

"It narrated by the Celtic Guardian, it's a trip through the card graveyard from a card's perspective, being chased by the Reaper of the Cards. I've got it programmed up until the end. I can't make up my mind how to end it." Kaiba admitted.

Mokuba shrugged, stepping behind the desk to watch the wire-frame simulation of the ride holograms thus far. "What are your choices?" Mokuba asked, leaning in to watch the laptop. Kaiba stood up and walked to the window.

"Either they make it or they don't." He said simply, "From a motion simulation perspective, it's more fun to have them head upward and break out of the graveyard just as, for whatever reason, someone brings the Celtic Guardian back from the grave. On the other hand, the effect of having the reaper catch them would be unparalleled. So I'm back where I started."

"That is a tough one." Mokuba said, settling into Kaiba's office chair. "What do you think, Serenity?"

"Hm?" Serenity asked, startled. "Oh… why not… both?"

"Both?" Kaiba asked, glancing back at her over his shoulder.

"Sure." Serenity said, "Make it somewhat interactive. Make it so that they _try _to resurrect the Celtic Guardian, and if the audience does something correctly, something simple, like leaning forward in their seats or something, then they do. Otherwise," she grinned and made a throat cutting motion.

"Wow." Kaiba said in a sarcastic tone. Serenity winced, now he was going to berate her, "That's not a stupid idea, Wheeler." He walked over to his desk and calculated the increase in price of adding some kind of sensor to the chairs. Mokuba vacated his seat, making his way over to Serenity.

"I think that was a compliment." He whispered to her with a sly smirk on his face.

"Marginal extra cost. Hmm… not bad at all. Nice work, Wheeler." He said and sat down at his desk again.

"That one definitely was a compliment." Mokuba muttered and Serenity chuckled lightly.

Kaiba's phone started ringing and Mokuba and Serenity made for the door. Kaiba picked up the phone and answered, "Kaiba." He raised his hand to Mokuba and Serenity, signalling them to wait. "Mhm… Yes… Right away… I understand."

Both Mokuba and Serenity looked up at Kaiba expectantly. Kaiba stood and put on his trench coat, which had been draped over the back of his chair. "Your brother has been assaulted. He's in the hospital. I'll take you there now." He stated matter-of-factly.

"_You're_ going to see Joey?" Mokuba asked, shocked.

"Kent's dead and Edmund's on his day off. I have to drive her." Kaiba stated bluntly, and then, catching the look Mokuba was giving him he added, "You're staying here. This only further proves the Ghouls are active again. I'm not putting you in any danger."

"But you'll put yourself in that danger?" Mokuba shot back.

Kaiba had reached the door and ushered Serenity out, "That's different. You're staying, Mokuba, and that's not subject to debate. I'll be back soon." He said and closed the door as he left.

Hurrying down the stairs, Kaiba lead Serenity into his garage. It was larger than her apartment, she thought to herself, with more than half a dozen cars and a dozen motorcycles parked throughout. Apparently, Kaiba already knew which one he was taking. He strode purposefully toward a silver convertible, a BMW Z4 Roadster. Opening her door, Kaiba ushered Serenity in quickly and hopped into his side. As he popped the keys into the ignition, he turned to Serenity, "I'm going to drive fast." Serenity dreaded what that meant. As the car sprang to life, she soon found out.

Flying down the freeway, Kaiba zig-zagged through traffic. At 120mph, the wind roared past Serenity's ears as Kaiba navigated his way to Domino hospital. A sign marked the appropriate exit, and Kaiba slammed down a gear as he flew into the exit. He slowed momentarily, then accelerated past 120 as they hit an abandoned straightway.

Suddenly, both of them noticed a truck coming out of a back road. There was no way to stop in time, Kaiba was going to hit it. Pressing a small black button on the steering wheel, the car suddenly gained a huge boost of speed, pulling past the truck with mere inches to spare. "Nitrous!" Serenity yelled to be heard over the wind, "You put nitrous in your car!"

"I told you I was going to drive fast!" Kaiba yelled back as he whipped around the corner and onto the street the hospital was on, cutting the gas, Kaiba began to ride the brake as they came to a fairly abrupt stop in front of the hospital. Mentally wincing as he looked at the hospital, Kaiba motioned with his head toward the imposing structure. "You should run along. You don't want to keep the vet waiting."

Serenity stepped out of the vehicle and made it to the door, before looking back. This was going to be hard, she wanted someone there with her. She glanced back over her shoulder, "Would you come in with me?" She asked sweetly.

Kaiba paused, then got out of the car. Why couldn't he just say no to the girl? It was the pleading look in her eyes, he decided, and the thought that Mokuba would give him the same eyes in the situation. Stepping out of his car, he pressed the digital look and then ran up the steps to catch up with Serenity. This was going to be uncomfortable, he thought to himself.

A/N: That's it for this chapter. Just a taste of the action to come. Next chapter should have at least one good action sequence, and we get a glimpse at who's behind the attacks on our dear Kaiba and that other guy… Joey.


	4. Unanticipated

A/N: This chapter ended up being a fair bit longer than any of the other chapters to date, but I had a lot more that I needed to get done in it. It's also quite a bit darker, with notably a fair amount less humour than in earlier chapters. It does pack a fair bit of action though, and I think most of the sequences turned out fairly well. I'm not a hundred percent on all of them, but then again I never am.

I love the reviews I've been getting so far, they're what's been motivating me to keep writing. Four chapters in four days! Holy no life, Batman!

**Disclaimer**: You don't own me! Er, I mean, I don't own anything. Except me. You don't own me!

**Chapter Four: Unanticipated**

Kaiba wrapped his arms tentatively around Serenity, unsure what to do in this situation. Even he had to admit that Joey looked bad. He was seriously bruised, bloodied and cut, barely able to breathe and even then only by the aid of a respirator. Seeing her brother in such rough shape, Serenity had thrown herself into Kaiba's arms and wept. Reflexively, Kaiba had found himself awkwardly embracing the smaller girl.

As she cried softly, Kaiba found he lacked the willpower to pull the girl away. He could empathize with Joey's state, and knew that in the same state he'd have wanted his brother seen to above all else. Still, he found himself unable to say anything as he searched for the words to calm her.

"He'll recover. His injuries look bad, but they aren't serious." He said in the most calming voice he could manage, coming across as apathetic instead of soothing.

"You don't understand." She snapped bitterly, pulling herself away from him, "He didn't do anything to deserve this!"

_You don't know that, _Kaiba thought, but this time decided to 'let it slide' as Serenity had said. Suddenly, Kaiba heard the voices of the rest of the nerd brigade in the hallway. Silently, he receded into a corner, not wanting to be seen there but unwilling to leave Serenity without knowing she was alright. Strangely, he found himself feeling protective toward the girl, and even stranger, he found himself missing the sensation of holding the girl.

"We came as soon as we heard!" Yugi said as he burst in the door, the rest of the group in tow.

Serenity threw herself into Yugi arms, and Yugi patted her reassuringly. "Hey, don't cry Serenity." Yugi said soothingly, "He'll be alright in no time, and we'll make sure that whoever did this to him gets what's coming to them." He reassured her.

"Hmph." Kaiba grunted from the corner. Why did it work when Yugi did it?

"Oh!" Yugi said as the rest of the gang made it through the door in which Serenity had mauled Yugi. "Kaiba! I didn't expect to see you here."

"Neither did I." Kaiba replied coolly, "I had to drive Serenity here, and she asked me to come in. Trust me, this is not where I'd _choose_ to be right now."

"You know," Serenity said, tiring of Kaiba's attitude. "You can leave if you're so unhappy here."

Though Kaiba couldn't help but feel slightly irked at the manner in which he had been dismissed, he was more than happy with the sentiment. Pausing in the doorway, Kaiba asked, "Will you come by tomorrow?"

"I don't know." She replied shakily. "I guess it depends on how Joey's doing."

"I understand." He said, and then he was gone.

"How is he?" Tea asked as she made her way to Joey's bedside. "He looks pretty beat up."

"The doctors tell me he'll be fine." She said, her voice still quaking slightly. "Though it really doesn't look that way. Why would somebody do this?"

"Ghouls." Yugi muttered, "It's gotta be."

Duke shrugged. "I don't know. It's possible, I mean, Joey was involved in Battle City, particularly in the finals, but it doesn't seem like the Ghouls would go after him for just that."

_Unless they were trying to get to me._ Yugi thought. _I sense something's amiss, Aibou _Yami spoke into Yugi's mind, _Street beatings and assassins were never Marik's style. Something else is going on behind this._

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

As they spoke, that 'something else' was brooding. He had savoured the sensation of beating the stupid Wheeler within an inch of his life. He had enjoyed the cryptic message he had left with him for Yugi. Wheeler's own involvement in Battle City had been minimal, but his sources assured him that without that involvement, Marik would have been victorious. Not that the new leader of the Ghouls particularly missed Marik. Marik had disbanded the Ghouls upon his return. No explanation, he had simply told them that the Ghouls were no more.

That hadn't satisfied him. He licked his lips as he recalled what had followed.

_Marik was exiting through the main warehouse the Ghouls had occupied. He was done with them, done with this fool's errand. He understood his mistake now. He strode through the room, but suddenly felt his feet seized. He couldn't move! He looked down to find metal bars wrapped around his feet, and heard a familiar laugh._

_"Vex? What are you doing?"_

_"I'm afraid I simply can't accept your request to disband the Ghouls, Master Marik. Some of us have sacrificed too much to simply see our dreams fade away because you lost a duel to some nameless pharaoh."_

_"What do you want!" Marik demanded._

_"Simply that we duel. Really, it's a set-up you'd be proud of me for. Each of us is trapped on these platforms that I've rigged to our duel disks. As we lose life points, the platform will rise. If I'm right, I've calibrated it so that right about when we hit zero we should be within range of that pendulum up there. I attached one of those blades, you remember the ones Pandora used, to the pendulum to greet you when you get up there."_

_"Why are you doing this?" Marik asked, looking about frantically. Where was Odion, or anyone for that matter?_

_"I thought your death, like your life, should be something I could look up to."_

Vex licked his lips again. Marik had double-crossed him, but now he had control of the Ghouls and intended to exact vengeance for what had happened in Battle City, and to kill the men that killed Master Marik. Or, at least the ones that had caused his death. Yugi was scared, the threats became more insistent everyday. Joey was down for now, and would be fully broken later. Kaiba had survived his punishment, but he knew how to destroy his spirit. And that was almost as good.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was about midnight. Serenity had drifted off sitting next to Joey's bed, and now her head was resting quietly on it. Joey watched her sleep, smiling. His sister seemed to always be there for him. He'd given her a hard time about agreeing to watch Mokuba for Kaiba. The thought of his sister spending any time with Kaiba, especially without him there, was not particularly pleasant. Still, it wasn't fair of him to be so rough on her. After all, he trusted her, and he knew she could handle herself.

She shifted, and then raised her head. "Oh, Joey, you're awake!" She cried, and wrapped her arms around her brother.

"Hey, Ren, watch the bruises!" He said as she squeezed him.

"Oh, heh… sorry Joey." She said, blushing apologetically.

"I'm glad to see you're here. Boy, I tell you, that was one of the scariest experiences of my life."

"What happened, Joey?" She asked, a clearly worried tone in her voice.

"I got ambushed by Ghouls walking home from Yug's. No duel, no nothing. I got away from 'em, but then a big one got me and gave me what for. Told me to tell Yugi when I came to that the Ghouls were back, and out for blood. Guess they're after him too."

"Oh…" Serenity said, her face clouding slightly and she looked down, lost in thought.

"What's a matter, Serenity?" Joey asked, nudging her face with his fist,

Serenity looked back at him and smiled. "Nothing, now that you're awake. Are you feeling better?" She asked.

"Strong as an ox!" Joey said, pumping one arm to show off his biceps, then wincing as his muscle ached.

"Dumb as one too. C'mon, don't overdo it Joe," Serenity chided. "Don't worry, I'm gonna stick this one out with you."

"Aw, you should go back to Kaiba tomorrow. He needs you more than I do!" Joey said, smiling softly.

Serenity's eyes lit up, "Really? You don't mind?"

Joey smiled, "Nah, not if you want to. I shouldn't a given you a hard time about it in the first place. You're a big girl now."

"Thanks big brother!" Serenity said, hugging her brother tightly. It wasn't the idea of going back to Kaiba, but the fact that her brother trusted her enough that lit her up. "You're the best."

Joey laughed. "I bet that's the only time someone ever calls me the best for letting them spend more time with Kaiba."

The two siblings shared a heartfelt laugh.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"G'morning Cecil!" Serenity called as she hopped through the front door.

"Miss Serenity!" Cecil called, surprised, "I hadn't expected you today. I certainly hadn't expected you to be in such high spirits! Is the young Master Wheeler feeling better already?"

Serenity tilted her head to the side, "You know about that?"

The white haired butler winked at the young woman, "It's hard to keep anything a secret from me in this household. Master Kaiba and Master Kaiba are in the kitchen. I trust you can find your own way."

Serenity winked back, "Sure thing Cecil! Look sharp!" She called as she found her way into the kitchen. She met Kaiba in the doorway as he made his way to the garage.

"Sere-, Wheeler. I hadn't expected to see you here today." He replied flatly.

"Joey's conscious and he seems to be recovering nicely. He seemed to encourage me to come visit Mokuba." She replied brightly.

Kaiba grunted, and brushed past Serenity. "Oh, Seto!" Serenity called after Kaiba.

He turned to look back at her, "What?"

"You can use my first name, if you want." She said, smirking broadly.

Kaiba spun and strode away. Serenity could have sworn he was suppressing a smile of his own.

"So, Mokuba, what do you want to do today?" Serenity asked as she took a seat on the stool beside the younger Kaiba.

"I want to get out of this stupid house." Mokuba said bluntly, "Even with all the stuff we have to do I still get cabin fever in here."

Serenity sighed softly, she understood and could certainly empathize. Over the last week she had seen more of the inside of the mansion than she cared for, and certainly she wouldn't have minded a chance to get out and see the city. "Tell you what," she said, casting a glance about for listening ears, "If you're good all day today I'll take you out for ice cream before Seto gets home."

Mokuba's eyes lit up, "You'd do that? Oh, he'd be pissed if he found out, Serenity."

Serenity shrugged, "What's he going to do, fire me? I'm doing this as a favour to a friend, remember?" she said slyly.

A grin played across Mokuba's face. "Alright!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Mokuba! Come back!" Serenity yelled, chasing the black haired youth down the sidewalk. Mokuba had fulfilled his part of the bargain, and so Serenity had to fulfill hers.

Mokuba spun around as he ran to flash Serenity a peace sign. He stumbled and landed on his butt, then spun around and hopped back onto his feet. "I'm alright, I'm alright. C'mon, Serenity, let's go!"

"Mokubaaaaa!" Serenity called after him, and stopped, resting her hands on her knees to catch her breath. "What's this?" She said, picking up a small Duel Monster's card shaped locket from the ground. She opened it up to find a picture of a young Seto Kaiba. It must be Mokuba's. He'd dropped it when he fell. She smiled, the two brothers were so close, and yet Seto always seemed remote to her. Well, he usually seemed remote. Over the past few days she'd seen glimpses of a Kaiba she'd never known, compassionate, passionate and even fun. The main difference between the Kaiba she knew and the Kaiba in the photograph was the smile on Kaiba's face. A genuine smile was rare from Kaiba, but it seemed to suit him in the picture. He was cute, but then again, he still was. A different kind of cute, to be sure, but still… If he had a personality to match his face, she thought, he'd be a tough guy to resist.

"Are you just gonna give up like that?" Mokuba asked, bending at the waist to be face to face with the hunched over Serenity.

"There you are you little…" Serenity muttered with a grin as she stood up.

"Uh oh!" Mokuba yelled and dashed away down the sidewalk. The ice cream shop they were headed to was just around the corner.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Kaiba was home early. It hadn't been a particularly productive day. His mind had been a tumult of unusual feelings, and he'd been unable to focus. He'd gotten to know the younger Wheeler fairly well over the last few days. He'd been impressed by her intelligence and her spirit, and she'd been forceful enough that even he'd have to admit she qualified as his friend by now. It was an odd feeling. Yugi was always trying to make friends with the powerful CEO, but Kaiba was less than enthused by the idea. To him, a friend should be someone that one could have meaningful conversations with, and trying to have even a brief conversation with Yugi was excruciating.

He had decided to take Mokuba and Serenity out for dinner. Both had spent too much time cooped up in the mansion the last few days, and it seemed an appropriate gesture of friendship to solidify the relationship between him and the young Wheeler. Striding through the door, he turned to the ever present Cecil, "Where are Mokuba and Serenity, Cecil?"

Cecil shifted uncomfortably, before stating, "Well, Master Kaiba, the young Miss Wheeler took Master Mokuba out for ice cream earlier today. They haven't returned yet."

Kaiba grunted his displeasure and made his way to the office. After he had specifically told her Mokuba was not to leave the mansion she had taken him out for ice cream! For a sugary desert, she had put his brother's life in danger! He was furious, both at Serenity for this perceived betrayal and at himself for going so far as to admit amicable feelings toward her. Obviously, she was not the type of person he could trust. His compassionate feelings melted away in an instant, replaced by a smouldering anger. Entering his office, he activated his computer and executed a search for the tracking device that Mokuba carried. He would find them, recover his brother and give the Wheeler girl a piece of his mind before dismissing her from his life altogether. No one disobeyed Seto Kaiba.

"Hm? What's this?" He wondered aloud as the tracking device kicked in. "That's not an ice cream store…" Quickly, he cross-referenced the reading with a map, "It's a warehouse. They've already gotten to them! Shit."

Kaiba stood up and quickly loaded the tracking data into his palm pilot. Grabbing his briefcase and the pilot, he ran down to the garage and hopped into his BMW, sliding the palm pilot into the slot on the dash that uploaded the data to his car's navigation system. Streaking out of the garage, he floored the gas pedal. It was time to recover his brother.

Passing the door of the warehouse from a safe distance, he carefully scoped what the situation was. The Ghouls were different this time around. He knew there would be no elaborate duel set up once he entered that warehouse. It would be an ambush, plain and simple. They weren't after cards or glory, they were after blood and this was an obvious ploy to lead him into a trap. They didn't learn, did they? Pick a fight with Seto Kaiba and you went home in a stretcher. The first step was to take out as many of them as possible before entering the warehouse. There were two at the door. He'd start there.

As he hopped out of his car, he pressed the automatic locks and grabbed his briefcase from the passenger seat. Confidently, purposefully, he strode toward the door of the warehouse. Seeing him approach, the Ghouls looked shocked.

"You!" the left side guard exclaimed.

Kaiba tossed the briefcase to the guard, who caught it reflexively. Having him momentarily distracted, Kaiba punched the other guard in the jaw, causing him to stagger backward. The other caught on, and dropped the briefcase to drive a right hook toward Kaiba. Dropping to a knee, Kaiba picked up the fallen briefcase and held it firmly in his grasp, driving it into the guard above him. Falling back, the stricken guard grabbed his broken jaw.

Kaiba spun to the second attacker, holding the briefcase out to block the punch. Having punched solid steel, the Ghoul grabbed his hand in agony. Kaiba slammed a foot into the Ghoul's chest and spun to stay close to the Ghoul as he reeled backward. Solidly within his desired range, he elbowed the cloaked man in the face and then slammed the briefcase into his chest. Winded, the attacker fell to his knees.

The aggressive CEO was forced to pay for his lack of foresight with a shot to the stomach as the first Ghoul was once again on him. Stepping backward to put himself into a more comfortable stance, the first Ghoul pursued him with a vengeance. Leading with another right hook, Kaiba found himself again dropping to a knee to dodge the blow. Unfortunately, this is what the attacker had expected, and he drove his knee forward to strike Kaiba. Sensing the blow, Kaiba threw himself backward and used his momentum to complete a full roll and find his feet again. Disoriented by the unconventional dodge, the Ghoul was unable to block the next blow to the skull from the case. He fell to the ground, fully unconscious.

With one down, Kaiba shifted his focus to the other, now fully recovered and charging full strength. Waiting until the last minute, Kaiba ducked and drove his shoulder into the rare hunter's chest. Sprawling over the compacted form of the CEO, the Ghoul took a headlong dive into the pavement, issuing forth a gut-wrenching _thwack_. He wouldn't be getting up any time soon.

Now that the door guards were down, Kaiba found his way to the drainage pipe from the warehouse's rooftop. Removing one of the straps from his trademark white trench coat outfit, he strapped the handle of his briefcase to his belt and rubbed his hands together. "If this works, this warehouse better have a goddamn skylight." He muttered to himself.

Kaiba leapt onto the pipe and began using the rungs to scale his way up the side of the building. Encumbered by the weight of his briefcase hanging awkwardly from his back, he faltered once or twice before reaching the roof. Glancing around, he found the rooftop to be unguarded, and the skylight he had hoped for as well. "Things are looking up." He muttered sarcastically, and made his way to the skylight.

Quickly, the handsome CEO scanned the room below him. The glass of the skylight was filthy, letting very little light through, but Kaiba had the eyes of a falcon and a driving determination. He was unhindered. The first thing he noticed was a sniper, hidden rather ineffectually atop the walkway that composed the upper level of the warehouse. He glanced around for any others, but found that to be the only one. Obviously, they had underestimated him yet again. All the better for him. He glanced down to the ground level, and took a sharp intake of breath. This was not what he had been expecting.

There was one guard, obviously not a man of prominence within the Ghouls as he had been chosen to be the bait for their trap. With a knife firmly in hand, he was towering over, trying to intimidate no doubt, their captive: Serenity Wheeler. Even from his perch fully three stories above her, Seto could see she was shaking like a leaf in the chair to which she was bound. Mokuba was nowhere in sight. Kaiba felt his rage toward the girl melt away as he watched her struggle against her bonds. He had to rescue her. He had a plan.

Quickly Kaiba searched the skylight for any kind of opening mechanism. There was none. Rising to his feet, he took a few steps back and gauged the distance to where the sniper stood. He could make it. Kaiba bolted forward, and leapt, driving through the glass and falling two stories to the grate walkway, a mere step away from the shocked sniper.

Serenity quivered in fear, as the Ghoul towering over her explained to her that they hadn't expected to find Joey Wheeler's sister when they took Mokuba, but now she'd serve as bait to lure Joey into their trap. He told her that she'd best start making peace with the fact that she was the reason her brother was going to die. Just then, the glass above her head shattered, spraying natural light into the room. Looking up, she could see a falling form silhouetted against the sun. Her rescuer. Her knight in shining armour. Her angel.

Kaiba rose in and instant and snatched the rifle from the stunned Ghoul. He drove the butt of the gun into the Ghoul's jaw, who sprawled backward, tumbling over the rail of the walkway and striking the ground with a loud thud. Kaiba tossed the gun away –he hated them- and leapt from the walkway, landing on a knee. He rose to his feet and walked toward the one remaining Ghoul who, furiously, was charging toward Kaiba.

Swinging the blade at Kaiba, the CEO was forced to use all of his dexterity ducking and dodging the arching and diving knife. As he was driven backward, Kaiba snaked one hand to his back and released the clasp on his briefcase. The move cost him, as the dagger ran deep into his right arm, cutting nearly to the bone. Grabbing the case by the handle, he waited until the rare hunter extended himself for a slash. Spinning, he swung himself out of the way of the attack and brought his briefcase against the man's skull.

The Ghoul staggered back, stunned. Kaiba had _not _had that briefcase a moment ago. Nevertheless, he would have his victory. He turned and strode back to Serenity. Spinning to face Kaiba, a dark smile grew across his face and he held the knife to Serenity's throat.

Surging with rage, Kaiba grabbed a card from his deck, kept in a special case on his belt, and threw it at the hunter. True to its course, it streaked through the air and sliced across the top of the Ghoul's hand, causing it to spasm uncontrollably. Dropping the knife, the rare hunter grabbed his hand in agony. Closing the distance between himself and the rare hunter in three strides, Kaiba picked up a crowbar from the top of a nearby crate and bellowed, "Don't you _ever_ touch her!"

The rare hunter looked up a moment too late. Horror on his face, Kaiba struck him hard across the jaw with the crowbar. The Ghoul collapsed on the ground like a sack of potatoes, unconscious and seriously concussed.

Kaiba pulled a handkerchief out of an inside pocket and glanced casually at Serenity. Smirking, he wiped the sweat off of his face and then tied the handkerchief around the wound on his arm, making it tight to staunch the bleeding.

Despite the fact that she was still trembling in fear, Serenity was more than happy to play along to Kaiba's game. Raising an eyebrow at him, she asked politely, "Do you mind?", motioning to the ropes that kept her bound to the chair she sat in.

Kaiba looked up and couldn't contain a smile at her sense of humour at the moment. Then, remembering why he was here, his face darkened. "You have Mokuba's pendant." He stated flatly.

"Wha?" Serenity asked, confused, "Oh, yeah. Is that how you found me?"

Kaiba reached down and picked up the knife. Carefully, he cut the rope on her right hand. "Do you know where he is?" He asked, looking into her eyes.

Melting under the intensity of his gaze, Serenity simply shook her head. Guilt ate at her, as she knew that he no doubt blamed her for the entire incident. He had a right to, she should never have taken Mokuba out of the house without his permission. She should have been cognizant of the risks.

As Kaiba gazed at her, Joey, Yugi, Tristan and Duke, with a police officer as well, burst through the main door.

"All right, ya freaks, where's my sister?" Joey yelled, then took in the scene. What he saw was Kaiba, bent over his sister with a knife in his hand. His sister was tied to a chair, clearly terrified and staring back at Kaiba. Her face was a picture of fear, and Joey suddenly understood. "Kaiba! I should've known you were behind this, you snake!" He yelled. Lunging at the police officer, he wrested the gun from his belt and aimed at Kaiba.

To Kaiba, everything passed in slow motion. First, he turned his head to see why Joey was there and what he was yelling about. Wasn't he supposed to be in the hospital? The next thing he knew, he heard a loud shot, and then felt something strike the side of his head.

The bullet struck Kaiba slightly behind the ear as he turned his head. The angle was wrong, and the bullet ricocheted instead on breaking through the skull, sending it flying into a crate. Kaiba's head twisted and he looked into the air, stunned, finally, his gaze fell back to the bound Serenity.

Kaiba didn't know where he was. He wasn't sure what was going on. The entire world seemed to be ringing. He felt something hot on his neck, and upon touching it he realized it was his blood. Suddenly, he became aware that a girl was screaming. He wished she'd stop: she was giving him a splitting headache. He saw that a girl was sitting in front of him. She was quite pretty, but he realized that it was her screaming. Suddenly she was getting larger and he realized that he had fallen atop her. Then he didn't see anything at all.

By this point, the police officer had grabbed his gun from Joey, but before he could handcuff him the group sprinted to see if Serenity was alright. Serenity was screaming and crying, and Joey hugged her and desperately reassured her that it was okay now, and that she was safe. Finally, Serenity managed to speak.

"Ohmygod, Joey, you shot Kaiba!" She screamed.

Joey nodded, "I know. I had no choice, he was going to kill you."

Serenity shoved him away with her free hand, "No, Joey, Kaiba saved me! He was trying to cut me lose!" She screamed at him.

Stunned, Joey stepped back. Immediately Duke and Tristan took his spot, each trying to free Serenity and comfort her at the same time. Yugi was hunkered over Kaiba. "Your bullet just grazed him. I think he's alright."

"My god, Ren, I'm so sorry." Joey said as Duke and Tristan helped Serenity to her feet. "But you don't know how it looked!" He insisted.

Serenity ran and embraced her brother, "Just promise me you'll never do anything like that again!" She insisted.

"I won't." Joey replied, tears forming in his eyes, "I was just so scared."

A groan issued from the fallen Kaiba. He knew the force of that impact had concussed him, but he didn't have time to worry about that right now. "Did anyone get the license plate number on that truck that hit me?" He groaned as he found his way to his feet, picking up the card he had thrown at the rare hunter. It was a 'Negate Attack'.

"Seto!" Serenity yelled and threw her arms around the still dazed brunette. "Thank God you're okay!" She cried.

Unsure of what to do, Seto wrapped an arm around the smaller girl. Suddenly, his cell phone rang. Pushing Serenity away gently, he pulled it to his ear. "Kaiba."

A moment of tense silence passed, and then, "Understood." Kaiba hung up. "Mokuba's in another warehouse not far from here. I have to go." He said simply and strode out.

"Seto!" Serenity called after him. "Good luck."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Moments later, Kaiba walked into the warehouse he had been told Mokuba was in. Recklessly, he had strode through the unguarded warehouse, desperate for his little brother. Still, shock took him as he gazed around at the warehouse.

It was empty.

A/N: Dun dun dun! I was going for something of a cliffhanger there. Please, let me know what you think. What worked, what didn't work, too dark, not dark enough, not enough action, not enough romance, that type of thing. I appreciate every review I get.


	5. Belief

A/N: And here I thought this chapter was going to be a little later than the others. Carpal tunnel can't stop me! I got more into the romance side of things. I hope its not sudden, cheesy, lame, forced or OOC. Seriously, I'm more nervous about this chapter than any of the others to date. Let me know what you think!

**Edit**: The first time I posted this chapter I was in a hurry and so I didn't get much of an opportunity to edit and revise. When I did get around to reading it I was _seriously _unhappy with the product. It wasn't bad by itself, but it was totally out of place with the rest of the story, and I didn't like some of the steps I took. Some of the dialogue was forced and some of the action doubly so. As a result, I tuned it up. I think it's better…

**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything… yet.

**Chapter Five: Belief**

He had failed. Since their parents' deaths, Kaiba had made it his first duty in life to protect his brother Mokuba, and he had failed once again. Memories flooded back to him from Duellist's Kingdom. He remembered putting himself on the ledge of Pegasus' Castle to force Yugi to call off his attack, desperate to save his brother. He remembered duelling Pegasus with everything he had, putting his very soul on the line to save him brother. And he remembered failing. He recalled sacrificing himself in the virtual world, throwing his duel with Noah in order to win back his brother, brainwashed by the bastard son of Gozaburo. And he remembered being helpless to do anything when Noah stole his brother from him, and his body from his brother. He had failed Mokuba too many times before. With nowhere to start his search for Mokuba, he knew he had failed his brother again.

Despair embraced the elder Kaiba. Uselessness was a feeling foreign to him, but now it seemed there was nothing he could do. Work was out of the question. Recreation was out of the question. So he sat, and brooded.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was a phone call, not unlike the one Kaiba had received directing him to the empty warehouse, that had brought Joey to the warehouse the previous day. Told that the Ghouls had Serenity, Yugi, Duke and Tristan had helped him strong-arm his way out of the hospital and race down to the warehouse, stopping only to ask a beat cop they had met along the way to come with them.

Serenity felt horrible. Having gone to the empty warehouse, Kaiba had returned at the behest of the police officer that Joey had brought along. In many ways, Kaiba looked worse then than he had fresh from his assault. It was his eyes that had worried Serenity the most. Kaiba had amazing eyes; in addition to their spectacular shade of blue they were always vibrant, bursting with life and energy. Whether they glowed with the fire of his fury or shone along with his laughter his eyes had always seemed to have so much life. Perhaps that was part of what made him seem so untouchable, the strength and determination that shone from his eyes, defying the world to try and stop him. When he had returned from that warehouse, his eyes had been dead.

She had decided that she had to see him today. First, because she had to apologize. It was her fault they had taken Mokuba, she knew, and if she wanted to be his friend he would have to forgive her for that. Second, she needed to see how he was. The look on his face had been one of sheer despair yesterday, and she knew that if he gave in to despair he'd never rescue his brother.

"Joey!" She called as she made her way to the door of their meagre apartment, "I'm heading over to the Kaiba mansion."

Joey understood immediately why she was going, and so he didn't try to stop her despite the warning in his stomach. Smiling at her, he simply called, "Say hi to Tess for me. Tell her I miss her."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Miss Serenity!" Cecil stated in surprise, "I had not expected anyone, least of all you today. Perhaps it would be best if you went home. I've never seen Master Kaiba in such a foul mood before. He could be dangerous in such a state."

Serenity smiled compassionately at the older man. "I have to come in anyway. You understand, don't you Cecil?"

Cecil ushered her in with a hand and a look of kindness passed over his face. "Miss Serenity, no one is at fault for Master Mokuba's kidnapping except for those that took him. I want you to understand that."

A nod was the only reply that Serenity was able to make.

"Master Kaiba is in his office. Good luck, Miss Serenity." He said, and returned to his duties.

Serenity marched up the stairs and turned to the door that she knew held the office. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door. Kaiba rose as she came in, and she paled as she looked at his face. Deep bags were under his eyes, his hair was a total mess, and his eyes were flat and lifeless. He wore only his black undershirt and trousers, obviously the same batch from yesterday, and the handkerchief tied around his arm. Looking at her, his face turned red. His arms began to twitch because of how tight his fists were clenched at his sides. Red rimmed the edge of his grey-blue orbs, and he stared wordlessly at her for what seemed like an eternity.

_Tell her! _He screamed at himself, _Tell her how this is all her fault. Tell her how she betrayed your trust, how she misused your friendship, how she stole her brother from you! Tell her! _His mind raged. He stared at the smaller girl, pale, tears forming in her eyes, trembling with fear as she stared at the raging CEO. Drawing away from him, her obvious terror showed across her face. Still, she didn't leave. She wouldn't flee from him. He unclenched his first, ran a hand through his hair and say back down in his chair. "I'm glad you're here." He said, unsure whether or not he meant it.

Serenity visibly relaxed and sat at her usual chair in front of the desk. She looked into Kaiba's eyes, still so flat and cold, and waited for him to say the first word. Idly, she thought back to the feelings she'd found herself having for him since yesterday. She'd taken a liking to him, but not until she saw him fly from the roof, silhouetted against the sun, diving to her rescue, had she noticed how her heart skipped a beat when she looked at him. _How could I have missed that feeling for so long? Maybe I was brushing it aside, thinking I was just impressed by him. Or maybe, this is something totally new. _Aware that she falling for the CEO, it was even harder now to see him so devastated. She _knew _he was better than this. She had to make him see it too.

Inside Kaiba's mind was chaos. As soon as the girl had walked into his office his anger at her had melted. And his had not been an irrational anger, it had been righteous indignation and he knew he was justified. Still, he found he couldn't stay made at the beautiful young redhead. He thought that it must be the feelings of friendship he held toward her. Though he had always thought of friendship as a rational expression, perhaps there were deeper emotions involved with the ties of friendship. Satisfied that that was what he felt, he brushed past the uncomfortable subject.

Finally, he decided simply to tell her how he felt, "There's nothing I can do now. I don't have anywhere to start my search."

Hmm, so that was it. He _had _given up. Serenity shook her head, "You'll find him" She replied simply.

Kaiba shook his head and rose to look out his window. "I don't have anywhere to start."

"You have sources, don't you?" Serenity asked, unwilling to let the proud Seto Kaiba sink into despair.

"They have a man inside, I don't have any sources I can trust," was Kaiba's flat reply.

"Then you can use your computers can't you?" She said insistently.

"To do what?" He shot back, spinning back around on her, "I don't know where to look!"

"So you're just going to give up?" She demanded, rising to her feet.

"I don't have anything to work with!" He cried. "Why are you wasting your time badgering me over something you know I can't do anything about?"

"Why can't you believe that I believe in you?"

"Because _I _don't believe in me!"

"And I don't believe in _me_!" She shot back, leaning back and crossing her arms resolutely. "No one believes in themselves because we're all too stupid to see what we're worth. But from where I'm standing, Seto, nothing's more clear than that you're worth more than someone like me could earn in a lifetime." She said, and then blushed, realizing what she had just said.

"…What are you saying?" Kaiba asked, realizing a blush had made its way to his own face.

"I'm saying that you can save your brother." She said, diverting him away from her off-topic outburst.

Kaiba closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again, Serenity could see a familiar fire begin to kindle itself in his eyes. "There may be a way." He said, and sat at his desk, sliding a cable into his laptop the image of his computer desktop shot to the plasma screen TV mounted on the wall. Typing furiously a map of all of Domino shot up on the screen. "First… I'll highlight all industrial buildings… next, I'll eliminate those that have full time occupants. Eliminate those near police structures… We can also eliminate those around where they said Mokuba was being held. I searched all of those already. Hmm, about a dozen or so buildings left." Kaiba paused, looking over at the screen.

"Focus on those near the docks. Marik had a boat, as I recall." Serenity said pensively, smiling slightly at Kaiba's renewed enthusiasm.

Kaiba nodded slightly, still typing, "Three. Wait a second, what's that building there?" Kaiba wondered, zeroing in on it, "Didn't show up on the list. I'll cross-reference it with the city plan… It's an abandoned museum of Egyptian antiquities. I think we found our hideout."

Rising, Kaiba picked his discarded trench coat off of the floor and looked up at Serenity. "My chauffeur will drive you home. Come back tomorrow, I still need to talk to you about what happened."

Serenity nodded slowly. She had a feeling what he was going to say, and was dreading the conversation. Still, she owed that much to Kaiba, and she needed to see him again anyway.

As he stormed out the door, Kaiba turned back, "Be careful, Serenity."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Kaiba stopped directly out front of the museum. Angry and reckless, he didn't care who spotted him. Purposefully, he strode through the front door. It was dark inside the museum. Brazenly, he pushed through a pair of double doors and found himself in a large dark room. Using two rows of glowing LEDs to navigate he made his way down what seemed to be the main path in the room. Presently he became aware that the path he was walked was sloping upward. Finally, he came to another large pair of double doors. Caution taking over, he leaned carefully against the door and glanced into the room ahead.

"Come in, Seto Kaiba, come in." A voice called from inside.

Striding through the doors, Kaiba glanced around at the room. Along either wall were two large sphinx replicas. Centred in the room was an enormous throne, with Egyptian hieroglyphs on the back. A single door stood in the side of the sphinx along the right wall. Sitting atop the throne was a large Ghoul, obviously the leader, dwarfed by the size of the throne itself. His hood was pulled back, revealing his tanned middle-eastern face. His black hair was short and spiky, and his irises seemed to be black. Easily Kaiba's height, the man had at least forty pounds of muscle on Kaiba. Smiling darkly, he watched Kaiba intently.

"Where is Mokuba?" Kaiba demanded.

The large Ghoul motioned toward the door with a nod of the head. "I have the key, of course. We couldn't allow him to wander off."

"What's this about?" Kaiba asked, meeting the Ghoul's intent gaze with his own cold stare.

"Revenge." The Ghoul said lightly, leaning on one of the arms of the throne with a truly bored expression on his face.

"For what?" Kaiba replied.

"Battle City- honestly, I thought you'd have figured this out by now."

"Yugi Moto made peace with your leader after Battle City." Kaiba asked, fully expecting the answer he was about to receive.

"We're under new management. Marik was too… caught up in the past to be a leader of a gang like the Ghouls. Once I break the three of you who caused us so much trouble and prove to the gang that I can fill Marik's shoes, we'll get back to what's really important."

"I don't care about any of that." Kaiba stated, "Give me my brother back."

"No."

"How did I see that coming?" Kaiba said, his voice dripping sarcasm. He'd have to take the key by force. He started walking toward the throne.

"Not so fast, Mr. Kaiba." The Ghoul laughed, rising from his seat and holding out the millennium rod. "I think I can persuade you against that course of action." Light erupted from the rod, and shone on Kaiba. As a glow settled on the blue eyed brunette, the Ghoul barked his order. "Come to me."

Seemingly in a trance state, Kaiba walked slowly toward the Ghoul. As soon as he was within arm's reach of the muscular rare hunter, Kaiba snapped into action. In one smooth motion, Kaiba snatched the staff from the Ghoul's hand. Gripping it firmly, he swung it at the Ghoul's head, who was caught unaware. The rod hit wit a crack, and the Ghoul crumpled to the ground.

"Next time, rely on yourself instead of a bunch of ridiculous hocus-pocus magic." Kaiba spat at the felled Ghoul, then looked to the door. An impression on the door seemed to match the head of the rod. Taking the rod firmly in hand, he pressed it into the depression on the door. He was rewarded with the satisfying sound of the magnetic lock disengaging. Kaiba swung the door open.

"Mokuba!" He called.

"Seto!" was the reply from the darkness. Charging out of the room, Mokuba threw himself into his brother's open arms. "You came!"

"I told you," Kaiba said, squeezing his brother tightly to his chest, "I'd fight through hell and back to save you." He rose, grabbing the rod from the open door, he muttered, "This belongs in a museum."

"Can we leave now?" Mokuba asked nervously.

"Yeah." Kaiba said with a smirk, "Let's go home."

The two left the room where the crumpled body of the leader of the rare hunters lay. Kaiba pulled out his cell phone and placed a quick call to the police, letting them now what had happened and giving them the address of the stronghold. They passed through the unlit room, which Kaiba now realized was some kind of projection room. Back in the foyer, Kaiba took a scan of the area. Doors opened off to either side. They likely lead to where the rest of the Ghouls were hiding.

Grabbing two two-by-fours from the remnants of a broken desk, he barred the doors as best he could. Satisfied, he escorted Mokuba to the BMW parked outside. Even with the safe return of Mokuba, he still had a lot on his mind. He had to figure out what he was going to do with Serenity the next day.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Serenity could hear her heart pounding as she stood on the step of the Kaiba mansion. She'd been standing there for half an hour, trying to work up the courage to enter. She desperately wanted to see Kaiba, but she dreaded what he'd say. Mokuba had been returned safely, that much she knew. As to whether Kaiba could forgive her or not, that was anybody's guess.

The door opened before her, and Cecil smiled reassuringly at her. "Did you intend to come in at any point today, Miss Serenity?" He asked.

She gulped, and then stepped over the threshold. "Could you show me to Seto, Cecil?"

Cecil led her up to the office where Seto spent most of his time. He motioned to the door, and then left. Taking a deep breath, Serenity pushed through the door. Kaiba was working at his laptop; he didn't look up, but ordered, "Take a seat." It was a cold, flat voice. That was not a good sign. Serenity took a seat.

"How was it?" He asked casually.

"How was what?" She replied, confusion obvious in her voice.

"The ice cream." He replied cruelly, "Was it worth risking your life, and my brothers? Was it worth betraying the trust I'd put in you? Was it worth destroying what little there was of our friendship?"

Serenity's heart sunk. Desperately, she searched for words and found that none would come.

"I've appreciated what you've done for me over the past few days, but I'm afraid that you simply aren't trustworthy."

"No… Seto-" she began.

"Don't interrupt me!" Seto yelled, looking up from his laptop for the first time. After a moment of stunned silence, he continued. "Your continued presence here won't be necessary. My staff has been flushed since the incident, with the exception of those I know I can trust, and I can rely on them to keep Mokuba within the mansion." He paused, waiting for her reply.

"Seto, please-"

"Please don't use my first name." Kaiba replied, deathly calm.

"Kaiba, please don't do this. We were friends, even you admitted that much, can't you just forgive me? I made a mistake and-"

"In the business world, you aren't given second chances, Miss Wheeler. If you see Cecil on your way out, you will be compensated for your trouble. You'll understand if I don't want to see you again." He said, keeping his gaze firmly on his laptop. Inside, his gut ached with every word and he feared if he looked at her he would lose his resolve. This had to be done. Serenity had betrayed his trust, and he couldn't count on her as a friend or as…. He couldn't count on her. Still, irrational as it was, he didn't want her to go. But it had to be done.

Serenity was crying by now. She had felt so close to Kaiba only a few short days before, and now he was cold to her again. He was untouchable again. She could only sit there, watching him, waiting for him to tell her it was all a joke, that it was alright…

"Is there anything else?" Kaiba asked flatly when she didn't move.

"Please Kaiba…" she rasped, her heart breaking in her chest, "Please don't…"

"Don't what?" Kaiba demanded as he rose to his feet, "Turn you out? You stabbed me in the back! Because of you my brother could've been killed and all you can think about is whether or not I want your _company_?"

"It was a mistake!" She cried, tears streaming down her cheek.

"Yes." Kaiba replied, ice in his voice. "This whole damn friendship was a mistake." Taking the short few steps to the door, he opened it and turned to Serenity. "If you please."

Serenity stood, and her eyes met Kaiba's. Quickly, he looked out the door, unable to hold her gaze. Serenity collected herself and walked to the door. Turning to face Kaiba, she sighed, "You don't want to do this anymore than I do, do you?"

For an moment, compassion shone through Kaiba's eyes. An instant later it was gone. "Goodbye, Miss Wheeler." He snapped coldly and walked back to his desk. Speechless, Serenity left the office.

She met Cecil at the bottom of the stairs, refusing the compensation check that Kaiba had left with him; she did accept a ride home from the chauffeur. Her stomach ached, though she knew no food or medicine would cure the sick feeling. She wanted to put the entire thing behind her. She wanted Kaiba. She didn't know what she wanted. All she knew for sure is that she wasn't happy.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Seto, would you pick up the phone and call her?" Mokuba begged, sitting on the couch behind where his brother was seated on the floor. He was back to Resident Evil 4, a game that Mokuba knew he only ever played to cheer himself up over something. He'd made it through the game twice in the time he normally spent sleeping while he was injured. Now he was assaulting the game with a vengeance.

"No." Kaiba replied simply, hoping that would put an end to the questioning.

"Come on, Seto. You care about her. I can tell. And don't just say that she _was _your friend, because I can tell it's more than that."

"You're right." Kaiba said, irritably. "That's why I feel so betrayed. How can I care for a girl if I can't trust her?"

"You could try forgiving her." Mokuba offered.

No reply.

"Come on. It was as much my fault as hers. I begged her to let me go out."

"You're my brother." Kaiba answered matter-of-factly.

"Right. And when you care about someone you _forgive _them when they let you down."

Again, Kaiba had no reply.

"Come on, call her. You're going to be miserable until you do."

"Then I'll be miserable."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Why don't you just _call him_¸ Ren?" Joey said, sighing heavily.

"He doesn't want to talk to me, Joey." Serenity replied, leaning back on the couch and flicking through their eight channels over again.

"So? Listen, for whatever stupid reason you care about that jerk, right?" Joey asked.

"I wouldn't phrase it like that, but… yeah."

"So who cares if he wants to talk to you? You want to talk to him." Joey said simply.

"It's not that simple, Joe." Serenity replied. Since Kaiba had kicked her out two days ago she'd been lazing around the house in her pyjamas. Joey hadn't seen her this depressed ever before. The only time that even came close was when Excel Saga went to reruns.

"Why can't it be?" Joey insisted. "Listen, if moneybags is half as good as he'd need to be to earn you caring this much, he'll hear you out."

"Joey… I can't. When… if he wants to, he'll call. If not… I can't force him."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Meanwhile, while Kaiba moped around the mansion a call was made from the servant's house in the Kaiba complex.

"Hello, Master Vex?"

"Ah, good, this was a call I've been expecting."

"I've retrieved the rod. But you've been lax in filling your side of the bargain."

"Relax, my friend, all in good time. We've only been feeling out our enemies. Now that we know their capabilities, we can begin to implement out final plan."

"And this time you'll finish the job? You'll kill the Kaiba brothers?"

"Of course, my friend, of course. I know that they trust you implicitly by now. You're sure that it'll be worth your while?"

"Five hundred million dollars. It's worth the risks I've been taking."

"Good. Just relax, my friend, the plan will be implemented soon. Soon."

"Thank you, Master Vex."

"No, thank you, Doctor Watanabe."

A/N: So now you know who the traitor is. In the next chapter, Seto finally calls Serenity and we get to see if they get their happy ending. And more build up to the big plan to come. Why don't they ever kill the bad guy when they have the chance? Oh well.


	6. Fates

A/N: This chapter took me a lot longer than any of the previous chapters, largely because I had no idea what I was going to write. Despite that, I think this is my favourite chapter so far. No action, but the romance finally comes shining through. Kaiba comes across as _very _OOC in some parts in this chapter, but I like to attribute that to his finally being able to open up to Serenity instead of me being a poor writer.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything, despite my most earnest attempts.

**Chapter Six: Fates**

The rain pounded down in torrents on Kaiba's office window. He had gone to his office to work on conceptualizing the next new ride for Kaiba Corp. three hours ago. Lazily, he glanced at his computer screen. It read: "KC's next ride will be". That was the result of three hours labour. Idly, Kaiba shuffled his duel monsters deck and stared out the window at the pouring rain. Presently, his phone rang.

"Kaiba." He answered, happy for any momentary diversion from his misery.

"Mr. Kaiba? This is Officer Logan down here at Domino Precinct HQ. This call is pertaining the bust you called on gang activity down by the docks yesterday."

"Go on." He replied curtly.

"All together we found eleven of these gang members at the hideout, but we felt you should be aware the one you said you knocked unconscious, the leader, was not there. You should be advised."

"Understood." He said, hanging up the receiver. That was great, that meant that the bastard that had kidnapped his brother was still at large. He would have to call in extra security. He looked over at his Rolodex of phone numbers. Internally, he flinched. It was sitting open to 'W – Wheeler, S.' Irately, he glanced back out the window at the pouring torrent of rain.

"Damn pathetic fallacy." He muttered.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"_Bone Cracker with the sunset flip off of the turnbuckle… OH! That had to hurt. Barnes is stunned; it looks like he may be down for the count. OH! But the referee is out, it looks like Miguel is in the ring now, this is getting cah-razy!_"

Joey yawned as he took another mouthful of chips. Lazing on the couch was about the only option he had on days like this. The phone on the table next to him began to ring softly, so he brushed the laundry off of it and grabbed the receiver, mouth still full of chips. "_Hefroll_?"

"Oh, it's you."

"Kaiba? I guess you want to talk to Serenity, right?"

"No. Just tell her to swing by the mansion this afternoon."

"Okay," Joey said, rolling his eyes, "I'll see if she can make it. That it?"

"No, I also called because I want your shrimp gumbo recipe. Yes, that's it."

"Jeez, harmless question." Joey muttered, hanging up the phone. "Hey, Ren!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The rain still hadn't let up. Serenity had been forced to walk the distance, having missed the only bus for two hours, and her umbrella had given out after it'd taken a hard hit from a drainage pipe. Her feet made a _shlick shlick _noise with every step she took, and she felt as though she had frozen to the bone. Finally, she saw the Kaiba mansion up ahead. Running to the gate, she hit the buzzer to page the house.

"Yes?"

"This is Serenity Wheeler, I was asked to come by earlier." She yelled to be heard over the rain.

"Ah, Miss Serenity!" It was Cecil on the other side; "I'll buzz you through right away."

A moment later the gate swung open and she sprinted to the doorstep, knocking loudly with the Blue-Eyes White Dragon doorknocker and waiting for the reply. It took an annoyingly long time, but eventually the door swung open to reveal a well-dressed Seto Kaiba, decked out in a fully black suit with a cobalt blue dress shirt underneath. He waited for a particularly long moment, before finally stating, "You didn't take the check."

"Is that what this is about?" Serenity asked, exasperated. She was soaked and frozen, and if he had called her all that way to talk about why she hadn't taken payment, she was going to lose it. "I told you, I did it as a favour to a friend. I won't take any payment of yours."

The door closed, and Serenity sighed deeply, a mix of disappointment and anger. A moment later, the door opened again and Kaiba tossed her a towel. "Dry off and come in, we're going to dinner."

Serenity stood gob smacked for a moment, before shuffling through the door and towelling herself off. Kaiba had already left the room, but Cecil found his way in and escorted her to a fitting room on the second floor.

"Master Kaiba determined your measurements from the security videos of you and compiled a wardrobe to suit your tastes. You may select a dress from any of those." He said, motioning to a large dresser filled with various dress gowns. Serenity undressed and selected a blue one she felt would match Kaiba's suit nicely. Still unsure of what was going on, she slipped on the gown and made her way back down stairs. Kaiba was fixing Mokuba's collar, who was also wearing a suit, although it was a navy blue one with a white dress shirt. His hair was the same mess it always was.

Kaiba nodded towards her. "Nice choice. You look good." He said, and then walked off toward the garage. Mokuba motioned for Serenity to follow. The threesome clambered into the back of Kaiba's limousine, and Kaiba told the destination to the driver. A moment later, they were off.

"If you had told me we were going to a fancy dinner I would've brought my own dress." Serenity ventured cautiously.

"I know." Kaiba said, "But the expression on your face was worth the expense. Besides, when I called you I wasn't sure we were going."

Serenity nodded. The comment about the money had been a test, then. That was fine, she didn't mind Kaiba testing her. She was just relieved that she'd passed. Assuming that the testing was over, and she had passed.

"Besides," Kaiba added a moment later, "You might've gotten wet. It's raining pretty hard out there, you know." He stated matter-of-factly, a smirk on his face.

Finally, they reached their destination. The chauffeur hopped out of the front seat and readied an umbrella as the trio exited the limo, escorting them to the door of the restaurant. As Serenity stepped through the doors, she couldn't help but give a gasp of surprise.

The entrance to the restaurant was lined on either side with green marble waterfalls. Guests walked over a broad marble bridge to enter into the restaurant proper through a pair of sandblasted glass doors. Inside, the ambience of the restaurant was one of dignity and refinement: the kind of dignity and refinement that one purchased in order to prove that you were suitably refined. A waiter met them just inside the doors, and smiled toward the trio.

"Mr. Kaiba, a table for three tonight, I see. Who is the guest?"

"A friend of mine," Kaiba said deliberately, "I'll have the usual table, assuming the tenth floor is open tonight."

"For you, Mr. Kaiba, it is always open." The waiter said with a smile and escorted the group to the elevator. Serenity could only smile at the trite cliché'dness of the entire restaurant. She had a feeling she and Joey couldn't have eaten here for what a month's rent cost them.

The tenth floor was, in fact, significantly smaller that the other floors and had only six tables spread loosely around a raised central platform where a small orchestra performed. The table they were led to suited two best, but could easily accommodate a third person facing the wall, which was nothing but glass around the room. Kaiba took one of the side seats, Mokuba facing him, leaving Serenity with the seat facing the window, a spectacular view, but mildly disconcerting.

Both Kaibas began to glance through the drink menu, so Serenity grabbed her own and flipped through the list of beverages. Skipping over the alcoholic beverages –she was too young to drink- she finally settled on a drink, about the time the waiter arrived.

"Usual." Kaiba said.

"Usual." Mokuba said.

"Er… I'll have a chocolate milkshake, thank you." Serenity ventured.

The waiter nodded, "A lemonade, no sugar, and two chocolate milkshakes. Here's the dinner menu, I'll be back momentarily."

Mokuba grinned at Serenity, who couldn't help but giggle. A moment later she realized the Kaibas were now scanning the dinner menu, so she grabbed hers. It was seven pages thick, quite large and had fairly fine print. She guessed there were over two hundred items on the menu. None of them had a marked price. She supposed that if you had to ask, you couldn't afford it. Slowly, she began to sift through what she wanted. A moment later the waiter had returned.

"Usual." Kaiba said.

"Usual." Mokuba said.

Serenity was still sifting through the menu, having gotten past sandwiches and now beginning the page on soup.

"Were you planning to order _food_, or is not eating the secret to how you stay so thin?" Kaiba sneered when his patience ran out a moment later.

"Oh… sorry. I'll just have what Mokuba's having. He's got good taste in beverages, after all." She giggled.

The waiter nodded, obviously not particularly amused, and recited, "Steak, medium rare and two chicken quesidillas. I'll return with your food in a moment."

Serenity waited till the waiter was out of earshot before muttering, "Jeez, is that waiter a robot or something?"

"I once threatened to see if I could peg his Buick with his lifeless body from here because he got impatient with Mokuba and since then he's lost a bit of his colour." Kaiba muttered back, browsing the desert menu idly.

"Wow, do you have this effect on everyone you meet?" Serenity asked, smirking at the CEO.

"Just the ones who are insolent." Kaiba muttered without batting an eye.

Serenity chuckled to herself and tried to enjoy the view. The side of the floor they were sitting on faced the sea and the lights from a few scattered ships could be seen from the water below. She sighed slightly. It was nice to be back in Kaiba's confidence, but he clearly lacked some of the zeal he had had a few days prior. He'd yet to comment on how she'd voiced her feeling toward him earlier. It was either besides he hadn't picked up on them, which would make him incredibly dense, or that he didn't reciprocate in which case she preferred him being dense.

The waiter broke the awkward silence by bringing their meals. He handed each their meal and asked if there was anything else. Kaiba brushed him off and then dug into his meal. The silence resumed. "So… how'd that motion simulator project work out?" She ventured.

"Fine." Kaiba stated, "We implement it next Thursday."

Another moment passed, and she tried again, "So Cecil is nice."

"He's been working there since long before I was… before I moved there. He was one of the few people in that mansion I could stand growing up. He's a rare breed, the kind that enjoys being a servant. I don't understand it myself." Kaiba said flatly, continuing his meal quietly.

Serenity sighed a little. The food was good, the company could use a bit of work. Still, she guessed it was awkward for both of them. "Any new tournaments coming up?" She asked, smiling brightly.

"You've gotten better at this." Kaiba replied, off-topic.

"Huh?" Serenity asked.

"Small talk. You've come a long way since I've met you. I seem to recall you asking me about school in early July." Kaiba smirked.

"You should talk, Seto." Mokuba smirked back at his older brother. "You who went nine days without talking to me when you were working on your new virtual game."

"What's wrong with that?" Kaiba asked, mocking hurt.

"How can you go nine days without talking to someone who lives in the same house as you?" Serenity interjected.

"In my defence, it's a big house." Kaiba stated.

"Really, you can tell? You only ever go back and forth from your bedroom to your office to the garage!" Mokuba teased.

"Now that's just not true, I go to the kitchen and the living room and from time to time I even go…"

Serenity could only laugh as the brothers began squabbling. These were the Kaiba brothers she remembered, she thought to herself with a chuckle.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"So, anyway, I got Joey the new Harry Potter book for his birthday, right…" Serenity explained as the headed into the living room.

"Oh God, what is it this time?" Kaiba interrupted, "Harry Potter and the Mass Produced, Cookie-Cutter, Morally-Whitewashed Literary Drivel?" He said, rolling his eyes and finding his way to the couches.

"Oh come on, they're not that bad!" Serenity shot back, "I mean, it's not Tolkien, but at least they get kids reading."

"Fine." Kaiba grumbled, "For every Harry Potter kid that goes on to read _Thus Spake Zarathustra _or _Crime and Punishment_ I'll give it a little bit of credit."

"You like _Crime and Punishment_?" Serenity asked, finding a seat next to Kaiba. "I never had you figured for the happy ending type."

"Happy ending? He goes to jail in Siberia!" Kaiba shot back.

"Oh come on, you can't argue that the ending isn't happy." She retorted.

"What, you mean the whole bit about the 'untold story of the gradual regeneration of a man…' or however he puts it?" Blue-eyes asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You say it like it's not the whole point of the book!" Serenity shouted, rolling her eyes at the stubborn Kaiba.

"Sure, I _guess _it's possible." He said, smirking, "The gradual regeneration of a man. Sometimes all it takes is the right woman."

Serenity raised an eyebrow and blushed. Was he teasing her? Or had he really not picked up on what she felt? "W-well…"

"Or perhaps there are no Sofya Semyonovnas." He said, smirking at her and getting up to rack the balls on his pool table.

"You play?" Serenity asked, making her way to the table.

"Occasionally." Kaiba replied.

Serenity shook her head disdainfully at the handsome CEO. "You must be the only occasional player in the world that owns a full sized table."

Kaiba shrugged, "Want to break?"

Nodding, Serenity dusted her cue. "Eight ball?" She asked, glancing momentarily at Kaiba.

Kaiba nodded back. "Sure. I think I know that one."

Serenity rolled her eyes in disgust and broke, sinking the one and the three right off the bat. "Looks like I'm solids." She stated simply. Effortlessly, she sunk the two, the five and the seven on her next three shots.

Raising an eyebrow, Kaiba commented, "I suppose you play more than occasionally?"

A chuckle escaped from Serenity, and she shrugged, "My dad used to 'baby-sit' me in a bar near where we lived back when I lived with him. I played pool with the guys to amuse myself. I got pretty good at it." Her next shot missed, and it was finally Kaiba's turn.

"Sounds like a spectacular father." He muttered sarcastically, dusting his cue.

"He wasn't all that bad. You didn't know him." She stated simply.

Kaiba raised an eyebrow at her before finally taking his shot. He sunk the nine and the thirteen. On his next shot, he sunk the fifteen. Then the eleven. Next he sunk the ten. On the shot after that, he sunk the twelve.

"Occasionally?" Serenity asked sceptically.

"Yeah." Kaiba said frankly. "Simple physics, really. Angle of incidence is equal to angle of reflection, you can calculate the trajectory of the object ball by the position of the impact with the cue ball and thus calculate the trajectory post impact of the cue ball by the same principle. Then it's just a matter of the appropriate amount of force."

Serenity just shook her head and laughed.

Kaiba's next shot pocketed the fourteen ball. He finished with the eight. "Good game, though. Want to try something else?"

Serenity raised an eyebrow, "What did you have in mind?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Ah! No fair, you cheat!" Serenity exclaimed as she lost her fifteenth straight game of Soul Calibur 2. "No way I can't hit you like that unless you cheat."

"I'm just good at it. You can't blame me for being better than you." Kaiba retorted.

"You should _let _me win some." Serenity replied haughtily.

"Why?"

"Because," Serenity explained, "I'm a girl."

"Oh come on, you believe in that chivalry crap in this day and age?" Kaiba asked incredulously.

"Of course!" She answered, "You would too if you weren't on the losing end."

Kaiba hit the start button to begin their next fight. Rolling his eyes, he began his attack on Serenity. "It's demeaning and chauvinistic."

"Ah-no-hey-c'mon-…" Serenity complained as she watched her life bar drain down. "That's it, handicap!" She called, hopping on top of Kaiba.

"Hey! That's cheating, I can't see the screen!" Kaiba called, muffled by Serenity's hair in his face.

"Can't hear you!" The red head called back, quickly executing every hit she could think of on Kaiba's motionless character.

Finally, Kaiba linked his arms underneath Serenity's knees and hefted her backward over his head. Landing upside down on the couch, Serenity quickly regained her composure and leapt atop Kaiba's back. Kaiba sprawled to his feet and lurched forward, easily managing the weight of Serenity on his back, but still seriously off balance. A hand drove into his scalp, and Serenity began to ruthlessly noogie the off-balance Kaiba.

"Ugh! Not fair! I can't hit back!" He protested.

"I thought you didn't believe in chivalry!" She called from her perch on the CEO's shoulders.

"It's not that," Kaiba groaned, "You're hanging by my arms!"

"You've earned it for cheating!" She shot back and renewed her assault.

Sprawling forward, Kaiba's shins connected with the couch in front of him and he fell forward, sending Serenity flying into the leather above him, upside-down again. A gleam shone in Kaiba's eye as his counter attack formed in his head. Sliding his hands on to Serenity's sides, his eyes locked with hers for a moment. Her face was only a few inches away from his, and she began to blush fiercely as their breaths mingled. Suddenly, a smirk crossed Kaiba's face, and he began to tickle the small girl.

"Ah! No! Not fair! You can't do this! Kaibaaaaaaa!" She wailed as she thrashed under the assault.

Kaiba laughed a heartfelt laugh as he watched the girl try to escape from him. Her face was turning red from lack of breath and she viciously tried to bat his hands away from her. Focussing on the attack, he didn't even see Serenity spring her own plan into action.

The tiny redhead pounced on Kaiba, knocking him off the couch and back onto the floor, pinning his arms with her own and his knees with her feet, she glared at him, a fiendish smile on her face. Gazing into his cobalt eyes, Serenity's gaze softened. He was smirking back at her, defiant as ever. For a moment she lost herself. It was then that Cecil chose to make his appearance.

"Master Kaiba, Morgan would like to know whether he is to drive Miss Serenity home or if she will be staying the night." Cecil asked, an amused smile on his face.

Kaiba freed his arms and lifted Serenity off of him, then checked his watch. It was a quarter to one. "Hmm, I must have lost track of time. Perhaps you should stay for the evening." He offered, glancing at Serenity.

"Oh… sure. Just let me call to let Joey know. He's probably freaking out about where I am by now." She realized. Standing, she ran off to find a phone.

"Prepare a guest room for her, Cecil, and tell Morgan to get some rest. He won't be needed again this evening."

"Of course, sir. And, if I might say, it's nice to have Miss Serenity back in the mansion. I hope it's not too much to say that I think she brings out the best in you, sir." Cecil said, offering a smile to the still prone Kaiba.

Kaiba nodded slowly. "Mokuba says the same thing. I'll admit I had more fun tonight than I've had in a while." He confessed, rising to his feet.

"So did we all, Mr. Kaiba, so did we all." Cecil said with a grin, and left Kaiba to his thoughts.

Seto turned off the PS2 and flicked off the lights in his living room. Sitting atop his pool table, he thought back to the day's events. He still wasn't sure why he found it impossible to stay mad at the young redhead. Or why he shivered ever so slightly every time she touched him. Two days earlier he would have been certain that he could explain exactly their relationship. Now… well, things changed, he supposed. He would have to do what he always did, use that change to his best advantage. Lying back on the pool table, he sighed audibly. He had a lot of thinking to do.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Serenity found her way to the kitchen the next morning. She was still wearing the silk pyjamas she'd found laid out for her the previous evening. With a bad case of bed head and some serious morning breath, she didn't exactly feel like a princess, but she was happy. Mokuba was eating a bowl of Froot Loops and idly flipping through the pages of his latest Newtype magazine. Kaiba was munching on his usual breakfast, and nodded to her the moment she entered.

"Serenity. May I speak to you on the veranda?" He asked, motioning to a pair of double doors in the adjoining dining room.

"Oh… sure." She said cautiously and made her way out to through the indicated doors. The veranda overlooked the garden in the back, a veritable labyrinth of assorted vegetation that required four permanent staff members to maintain. The garden also boasted dozens of water features, from a prominent artificial waterfall at the back to an entire network of streams that irrigated the better part of the garden. The garden served a double purpose by obscuring the view of the servant's house in the back.

Kaiba slipped through the doors and stood beside her, overlooking his garden and seeming reluctant to speak. Finally, Serenity couldn't bear the silence anymore and asked, "What was it you wanted to speak to me about?"

Running a hand through his hair, Kaiba let out a tense sigh and muttered, "This isn't going to be easy," to himself before turning to Serenity.

"Listen, Serenity, I've been doing a lot of thinking since yesterday. I… Admittedly, I enjoyed myself, but… the fact of the matter is… I don't want to be your friend." He said, trying to gauge her reaction.

Serenity looked shock. She stammered for a moment, a dozen different questions all popping into her head at one time. An instant later Kaiba had wrapped an arm around her back and pulled her against him, pressing his lips against hers. Serenity was shocked, but only for a moment, and then slid her hands to Kaiba's face, resting one on his cheek and sliding the other into his hair. Kaiba's free hand had found it's way into her hair by now and the two stood motionlessly in their embrace for some time, until Kaiba gently pushed Serenity away.

Still having one hand in her hair, he slid it down to rest on her cheek. Affection shone through the brunette's cobalt orbs, and a smile crossed his face. "I could never settle for being your friend." He finished, and leaned close for another brief kiss.

"Now," Kaiba said, turning to head back into the house, "Go brush your teeth."

A/N: Heh. I like that chapter. Please, give it a review and let me know what you think. Good, bad, ugly, etc. I appreciate every review I get.


	7. Furies

A/N: I like this chapter. There's not much action (especially if you consider that this is the beginning of the climax, and how much action is likely to be in the next chapter) and there's not much romance but it's a necessary step to the plot and I think it turned out fairly well. Thanks a million to everyone that took the time to review, I've gotten some of the nicest responses and it's all very encouraging. You guys are the greatest.

**Disclaimer**: Rest assured I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, BMW or any plastic explosives.

**Chapter Seven: Furies**

The door to the ramshackle apartment opened and Serenity slipped in. Quickly, she checked the answering machine for messages and yelled to let Joey know she was back. With a yawn she swung open the door to their fridge and grabbed a pear out of the fruit crisper and snatched the newspaper from the wastepaper bin at the end of the counter.

"Hey, you're finally back." Joey mumbled, wiping the sleep from his eyes as he made his way out of the bedroom. Groggily, he glanced at the clock. It was three in the afternoon.

"Yeah." Serenity said, smiling, and made her way past the counter and into their living room. Their four-room apartment consisted of two bedrooms, a bathroom and a kitchen-living room, separated by a counter down the middle.

"So I take it that it went well?" Joey asked as he made his way to the bathroom.

Serenity sighed and collapsed onto the couch, flicking to the food channel. "Ah… he's such a jerk." She said dreamily.

Turning the knobs on their shower to start the water running, Joey peeked out from the bathroom. "You say that like you're in love with him." He stated interrogatively.

"Maybe I am." Serenity thought aloud.

"Oh, so it's like _that_." Joey groaned as he stepped into the shower.

Serenity shook her head dismissively as she took a bite of her pear. She still wasn't sure how it was. More than friends, she knew, but did that make her Kaiba's girlfriend? A dreamy smile crossed Serenity's face. She guessed so.

A knock at her door pulled her mind away from wondering how Mrs. Serenity Kaiba sounded, and she placed her pear on their makeshift milk-crate coffee table and made her way to the door. No one was there. Serenity scratched her head thoughtfully, and then leaned out into the hallway to get a better look.

Panic struck her as a hand darted out from against the wall and grabbed her by the throat. Pulling her into the hallway, it slammed the door behind her. It was a Ghoul, fully robed, brandishing a menacing looking dagger. "Hello there, sweetheart. An old acquaintance of yours is hoping you'll stop by for a visit."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Yugi lay pensively on his bed, wondering about the events that had passed recently. He had been receiving threats from the Ghouls on a fairly regular basis, each seemingly a bit more menacing than the last, yet out of the three he understood the Ghouls were targeting, he was the only one that had escaped harm so far. He also understood from Mokuba that Kaiba had recently assaulted and dashed their working stronghold, but that the leader was still about.

_They will take action against us. _Yami spoke into Yugi's mind, _They are trying to get us to drop our guard, think that they will be satisfied with threats, and then they are going to strike. We mustn't delude ourselves into thinking otherwise._

"Yeah, but there doesn't seem to be much we can do. I mean, what defence can we make against them. Go to the gym?" Yugi wondered.

_If what we've heard from Mokuba is true, Kaiba is now in possession of the Millennium Rod, meaning that their leader will have lost much of his power. Nevertheless, we should be wary. My shadow powers can only protect us so much, and I'm reluctant to use them. _Yami explained.

Yugi nodded slowly, "So, what, you want me to pack heat, or get a knife, or what?"

_I don't know. _Yami admitted, _I just don't want you to be hurt._

A smile crossed Yugi's face. "I appreciate it, really I do."

Yugi glanced down at his grandfather, sweeping the sidewalk outside of the game shop. It had been a slow summer for Duel Monsters so far, although it was only now mid-July. Still, there hadn't been a tournament yet and it was affecting his grandfather's sales. Yugi missed the action of the game, and the clarity it seemed that tournaments always provided. If a new enemy was to arise, he wanted it to happen through a Duel Monsters tournament, so that he could fight his enemy with skills that he had, not skills that he lacked.

A falcon landed on his windowsill outside, startling Yugi from his thoughts. Yugi smiled at the creature, an urban hunter that made its way in a world that was not its own. It reminded him of Yami in many ways, who had become not only a friend but also a powerful ally despite being forced into a world he didn't know, robbed of his memory. Now a new threat had appeared. Well, Yugi and Yami would defeat it, together.

When the falcon flew away, Yugi glanced back to the sidewalk below. His grandfather was gone.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Mokuba was in high spirits. His brother had finally 'put the moves' on Serenity, and the two of them were now unofficially an item. It seemed rather absurd to him that at eighteen this was Kaiba's first girlfriend. But he understood his brother's fear of people. They hadn't had the best experiences with them over their lifetime, and Kaiba's wariness was to be expected. After all, Mokuba was the only person Kaiba'd ever loved that was still alive. Except maybe Cecil, but he'd never admit to that.

He'd seen his brother pick up an old habit that he'd broken a long time ago. He smiled. It was a simple thing, really, but it seemed like Mokuba hadn't seen a genuine smile on his brother's face for ages. But he smiled around Serenity. Mokuba liked her too, so it became an even more fortuitous relationship.

Leaning back in his leather armchair, placed in the enormous library Kaiba had put in on the third floor, Mokuba gazed out the window into their garden. He'd read no more than three lines in the novel in his hands over the last hour. His mind was wrapped up in a dozen things he was thinking of. The garden really was beautiful. Kaiba said he liked it because of the smells. For Mokuba, it just felt like being back in the country again. He hadn't been back out there since they were put in the orphanage.

A slight rapping on the door as someone entered broke Mokuba's train of thought. Glancing up from his book, he saw Doctor Watanabe standing in the doorway. "What are you reading, Mokuba?" He asked amiably.

"Oh." Mokuba mumbled, tossing the book onto the table beside him, "_Wuthering Heights_. Seto recommended it."

Watanabe raised an eyebrow, and then smiled warmly, "May I show you something Mokuba. I promise you'll find it most fascinating."

Mokuba nodded, hopping out of the armchair. "Sure. I was bored to death trying to read that thing." He followed Watanabe, who lead him downstairs and into the garden.

Watanabe led through a series of twists and turns, leading the pair deeper into the massive tangle that composed the garden. It was marked with different coloured pillars, each of which held a special meaning to the gardeners, and served for navigation through the network of natural passages formed by some of the most ancient trees copses in the morass of vegetation. Gradually, they seemed to distance themselves from the house itself. Mokuba began to wonder if Watanabe truly knew where they were going. Mokuba's excursions into the garden seldom led him this deep and yet he had been lost more than once. "What are we going to see?"

"Oh no, I want it to be a surprise." Watanabe insisted, leading him around another twist and into a raised wooden platform sitting atop a thicket of small cypress trees. A smile crossed Watanabe's face and he declared, "Here at last."

"Cool." Mokuba replied, walking out into the clearing. "What am I looking for?"

"This." Watanabe sneered, and an instant later half a dozen Ghouls were in the clearing, sifting out from the trees. The largest of the gang grabbed Mokuba and turned to Watanabe.

"Okay, traitor, you fulfilled your part of the agreement. Master Vex wishes me to assure you that the Kaiba brothers will be dead within two days time. Then, you'll get what it is that you want."

Watanabe smiled widely, "Excellent. Give Vex my regards."

"Oh, no." The Ghoul said, a dark grin crossing his face, "You're to come with us. This is the final stage of our plan, and you are necessary to it."

Staggering back, Watanabe paled. "But… but why?"

"Relax, traitor." The Ghoul admonished, "Your death would not suit us. Now, come along."

"One moment." Watanabe replied, and tore the pendant from Mokuba's neck. "We don't need Seto Kaiba following us, as I understand it."

"He'll come when he's told." The Ghoul answered.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Kaiba!"

"What is it, Yugi?" Kaiba replied, looking irritably at the short duellist on his doorstep.

"Where is Mokuba?" Yugi asked, desperation clear in his voice.

"I don't know." Kaiba answered, short on patience, "He's around, I'm sure. I forbade him to leave the mansion without me. He'll be around here somewhere."

"Kaiba! You don't understand. Both my grandpa and Serenity were kidnapped. You have to make sure that Mokuba is okay, the Ghouls are almost definitely after him too!" Yugi insisted.

Kaiba looked over Yugi's shoulder to Joey. "That true?"

Joey nodded solemnly. "They got her."

"Come in, wait here." Kaiba ordered, storming up to his office to check the tracking device. A moment later he returned. "Mokuba is in the garden. I'm going to have the garden staff verify."

Kaiba picked up his cell phone and called the servant's house. Curtly, he instructed the garden staff to verify Mokuba's presence in the garden and report back as soon as possible.

"So," he said, glancing back to the pair in his foyer, "The Ghouls kidnapped someone from each of you? What do you know so far?"

"Nothing." Yugi answered flatly. "They've given us nothing."

Kaiba nodded slowly, "They will. This is about us three, not them, and they said themselves they wanted our blood-"

"No." Joey interrupted. "They just said they wanted blood. Maybe they're out to take our loved ones from us. To hurt us that way."

"Like they lost Marik, I suppose." Yugi finished.

Kaiba's cell rang and he snatched it from his pocket. His face paled as the gardener reported to him, and he turned back to the other two. "They have Mokuba too."

Yugi nodded gravely. "Someone from each of us."

Starting up the stairs, Kaiba barked, "Follow me," to the pair below. Obediently, they followed Kaiba to his office on the third floor. "I've met their leader," he explained as they stepped into Kaiba's favourite room in the colossal mansion, "Just taking those we care about from us isn't his style. For my part, I know he won't settle while I'm alive."

"What makes you say that?" Joey asked sincerely. For the time being, all hostilities were put aside. He knew they'd have to co-operate to make it out of this ordeal.

"I beat him," Kaiba replied, "And he can't stomach that."

Yugi sighed and sat down on one of the white couches in the middle of the room, in front of the desk and adjacent to the wall-mounted TV. He relaxed in the chair and ventured, "So, what do we do now?"

"We wait." Kaiba answered solemnly. "You each have a cell phone?" They each nodded, "Good. Then we wait here. They'll call."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It would have been a funny scene if it weren't for the solemnity of the situation. Kaiba was sleeping quietly in his desk chair, feet up on his desk; head sprawled back against the plate glass window. Yugi was in a similarly unflattering position, feet up on Kaiba's coffee table and head back against the back of the couch, a slight bit of drool running down his cheek. Joey was curled up into a fetal position with his head resting on Yugi's lap. He snored abominably from time to time, and whenever he did Kaiba would wake up and throw something at him, then go back to sleep.

Kaiba sprung to life suddenly as the phone rang. Yelling to the others to wake up, he picked up the phone. "Kaiba."

"Mr. Kaiba," a smarmy voice on the other side of the line declared, "Are the Mr.'s Moto and Wheeler with you at the moment?"

"They're here." Kaiba answered and Yugi and Joey both jumped at their obvious mention. It was _them_ on the other line, they knew it.

"Put them on speakerphone, if you please."

Nodding, Kaiba pressed the speakerphone button and hung up the receiver. "Just what is it that you want?" He asked harshly.

"Something from each of you. We've recently acquired some bargaining chips and we're angling to cash them. Mr. Moto?"

"What?" Yami answered, rising to his feet and closing the distance to the speaker.

"I think you know what we want from you. See to it that you bring your Millennium Puzzle to warehouse 414 at the docks at precisely five pm today. Any earlier and I don't think I'll be in the mood to bargain. Any later and it'll be too late. Understand?"

Yami bit his lip in anger and paused for a moment, before finally replying. "Understood."

"Good. Mr. Kaiba?"

"What?" Kaiba demanded bitterly.

"Ooh, temper temper, Mr. Kaiba. I understand from my close personal friend Doctor Watanabe that there is a safe in that spectacular mansion of yours. I also understand that said safe is where you and Mokuba keep your shares of Kaiba Corp. Well, I'm looking to get into the stock market, so I think in exchange for your brother you can give me your 45 of the company and your dear brother's 15 of the company. Do you think you swing that by the old KC shipping warehouse in Domino for me? Five o'clock, same as Yugi. Be punctual, but not early."

Kaiba looked as though he would explode. His face was turning red, he was clearly furious and he was shaking. Finally calming, he managed an, "I'll see what I can do."

"You do that. Mr. Wheeler?"

"Yeah?" Joey asked, trying hard to sound relaxed.

"I'm afraid you don't really have anything of value. I will, however, give you a, shall we say, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If you'd like to come by warehouse 103, not too far from where you good friend Yugi will be, and trade yourself for your sister, well, that's a deal I'd find hard to refuse. You seem like the kind of guy that would claim that he'd die to protect his sister. I plan to find out if that's true. Care to swing by around five?"

Joey was stricken. He seemed to be choking on air for a moment, before finally nodded solemnly and muttering, "I'll be there."

"There's a nice boy. Let me see, it's nine am now, is it? That gives you three fully eight hours to get ready for our visit this afternoon. One more thing: come alone. G'bye now. Take care." He hung up.

Kaiba hung up on his end to be sure and then opened his laptop, typing furiously. As he did, he pulled out a cell phone and placed a call to the servant's house. "Derek? Check if Watanabe's there… He isn't. Fine, carry on."

"You can work at a time like this!" Joey yelled, standing and glaring at Kaiba fiercely.

Ignoring Joey completely, Kaiba finished typing and a map of Domino appeared on the wall-mounted TV, highlighting the three warehouses in question. The initial of each of them appeared over the warehouse they had to be at. Spread evenly, the middle warehouse, Joey's warehouse, was ten miles from each of the others.

"They're trying to split us up." Yugi said simply, "Together, there's a chance we can beat them. Apart, we can't."

"Speak for yourself," Kaiba replied, "I can take care of myself."

"Damnit, Kaiba, we need to work together if we're going to beat them…" Yugi began.

"Listen, Yugi," Kaiba snapped, "I feel bad that your grandfather got kidnapped, really I do, but my priority is Mokuba. After that, my priority is Serenity. Your damn grandfather can get in line because I have too much to worry about right now to think about how to help you save your damn grandfather."

A few moments passed in silence, before Joey finally suggested, "Should we call the police?"

"That's exactly what they're hoping you'll do." Kaiba answered, "During Battle City our best estimate was that there were around sixty Ghouls. So far, we've arrested fifteen. That makes fifteen Ghouls for each of us. Armed Ghouls, I'm willing to bet. Police protocol states that we'd get five officers each to raid the warehouses, and that'd just be that much more blood on the ground. Leave the officers out of this."

"Then what do you suggest, Kaiba?" Yugi demanded.

"Each to his own. Do what you can."

"Easy for you to say!" Joey shot, "All they want from you is your company. They want to take my life."

"You idiot." Kaiba spat, "Do you think they plan on leaving any of us alive? This is all just a ploy to get us where they want us. Besides, you're getting a good deal. It's like trading an Armoured Lizard for a Blue-Eyes White Dragon, if you ask me."

"Shut the f-"

"Joey! Kaiba!" Yugi interrupted, "Come on! We can at least plan something together. A plan of some sort. We've got eight hours to think. We can at least use them."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Kaiba was ready. He prepared himself rigorously for this moment. Turning the keys in his BMW, he stepped out and into the cool dusk air. Adrenaline pumped through his veins. He felt aware of everything that moved. The very air around him was throbbing. They were trying to trap him. He would have none of that.

His steps echoed in his head as he strode from the back lot to the front door of the warehouse. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. His pulse seemed to be nearly out of control, and he muscles tensed every time a seagull called. He had to be ready. He had to save Mokuba. And once he'd done that, he'd save Serenity too. He'd lost too many people he cared about. He would _not _let that happen again. Tensing inwardly, he opened the door to the warehouse and stepped in.

This warehouse had been used to store armour plating for Kaiba Corp's tanks and ships, much of it was still here. Two large cranes stood on either side of the stacks of shipping crates, serviced by scaffolding that made a grid fifteen feet above the concrete floor. _Five gunmen on the scaffold,_ Kaiba listed internally, _five on the ground level_. He glanced up toward the stack of shipping crates in the centre of the warehouse. Atop it were the remaining five gunmen and his brother tied to a chair, as well as a familiar face he had only half expected to see.

"Doctor Watanabe." He declared loudly, taking a few steps inside the door, "I've been looking all over for you."

"You'll understand if I don't race to hug you, Mr. Kaiba." Watanabe replied venomously.

"Your choice of companions seems to have deteriorated, I see. I have what you asked for." He stated, raising the briefcase in his right hand, "Give me what I came for."

"You're not stupid, Mr. Kaiba, and I never pegged you for naïve. You know your brother won't be returning to you." He stated matter-of-factly.

"Tell me, Watanabe, what's the one thing that if you misplace just a little of, you can lose all of?"

"What, Mr. Kaiba?"

"Trust." He stated simply, and suddenly his left hand flew forward and a blinding flash filled the room. Instantly gunfire erupted from all sides.

Darting left, Kaiba dropped his briefcase and leapt atop the supports of the scaffold, quickly vaulting himself to the rail and pulling himself over. The gunman he arose next to noticed the movement through tear-filled eyes and quickly turned his gun toward Kaiba. Slamming his elbow into the Ghoul's jaw, Kaiba sent the gunman over the edge of the scaffold and plummeting to the ground. Quickly, he darted down the scaffolding, drawing the attention of all the nearby gunmen who quickly turned their weapons on Kaiba.

Now fleeing from bullets, Kaiba kicked off of the rail and leapt from the scaffolding to the shipping crates. Watanabe was still stunned, and Kaiba darted past him and the gunmen, grabbing his brother –chair and all- and running past them down the shipping crates, a consistent stream of bullets nipping at his heels. His target neared, a few more seconds and he'd be there. Suddenly a bullet tore through the bound Mokuba's arm, spraying blood across Seto's face. The injury would prove minor, but Mokuba's pain was major and immediate. Tucking Mokuba, to his chest, Kaiba leapt forward, smashing through the large windows of the warehouse and plummeting fully twenty feet to the ground below.

He landed on his shoulder and rolled to ease the blow. Time was of the essence. Setting Mokuba down, he deftly drew a small remote with a single button from his trench coat. "Goodbye, Watanabe." He sneered and pressed the button.

Inside, the group was mobilizing, heading to the door to catch Kaiba before he escaped. Suddenly, light erupted from the briefcase Kaiba had dropped near the door. A moment later, it exploded. The first ten gunmen were incinerated instantly. The concussive shockwave knocked the rest of the Ghouls over and a moment later the flames engulfed them. From Kaiba's standpoint he watched as the front end of the warehouse collapsed, flames spewing from the shattered windows. A smirk crossed his face as the back end of the warehouse followed, collapsing into rubble scarcely a dozen feet from where Kaiba lay. That had been the last of the plastic explosives Gozaburo had kept in the 'munitions room' in the mansion. The deed had been done; it was what he had to do to protect his brother. Still, guilt riddled him as he cut his brother loose. He had killed.

"Get in the car, Mokuba." He ordered as he rose to his feet and dusted himself off. "I liked that briefcase," he added under his breath.

"Are we going home?" Mokuba asked as he sat in the front seat, trembling from the ordeal. Quickly Kaiba removed one of the straps from his trench coat and wrapped it around the wound in Mokuba's arm. The bullet had gone clean through, thankfully, and the wound would heal fairly quickly.

Kaiba glanced at his GPS navigation system. At his top speed he could make it to Joey's warehouse in just less than three minutes. Nervously, he glanced at his watch: 5:03. "Listen, Mokuba, unless I do something fast, Serenity's either going to lose her life, or her brother, or both. I can't let that happen. We're going to save her."

Mokuba nodded and a smirk crossed his face.

"Buckle up." Kaiba ordered, "I'm going to drive _really _fast."

A/N: Okay, so it's a bit of a cliffhanger but there's just too much going on to try and fit it all in one chapter, and even if there wasn't I don't want to. Next chapter I hope to lay to rest any worries about what happens to Joey, Yugi and most importantly Serenity. I know how you guys hate cliffhangers.


	8. Illusions

A/N: This chapter took a lot longer than any of the previous chapters for two main reasons. The first is that I went through about half a dozen different versions of the encounter at Joey's warehouse. Finally, I settled on one that I liked and I _think _it's better than the others I came up with. The second is that I was on vacation, but it was nice to come back to a solid bunch of reviews. Thanks all!

**Disclaimer**: Don't own nothing, not no way, not no how.

**Chapter Eight: Illusions**

Joey stepped into the gigantic warehouse. It was empty, except for a chair in the centre of the room in which sat his sister. And, of course, the guards. Ten guards, each equipped with nasty looking pistols, were spaced across the room. Joey held a black metal briefcase in his hands, and glanced about, looking for the leader. One Ghoul stepped forward. Unlike the other nine, he wore no cloak, simply black clothing. He sneered cruelly.

"Mr. Wheeler. My name is Koji. It's good that you've come."

Holding up the briefcase in his hand, Joey felt a sweat drop form on the back of his head. Those Ghouls' trigger fingers looked itchy. "I brought something to bargain with." He declared.

"You don't have anything worth having, Mr. Wheeler."

"I don't, no," He explained, hoping they'd wait to hear his explanation, "But in this briefcase is five million dollars hard cash on loan from Mr. Seto Kaiba. Perhaps we could… work something out?" He cringed, but no gunfire came.

"You have my attention." Koji replied.

Joey sighed audibly. Kaiba's plan had better work.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

5:07. He had better be on time. The plan bridged on timing. Leaping out of the BMW, he turned to Mokuba. "Stay here, keep your head down and under no circumstances leave the car. Do you understand?"

Mokuba nodded. A bitter smile crossed Kaiba's face as he made his way to the door. They were not expecting him. He pressed his ear to the door and listened intently.

"Go ahead, open the case." Joey's voice suggested. "You'll see that everything is in order." He sounded stressed. No surprise there.

"Do you think we'll let you live even if it is legitimate?" An unknown voice, probably this batch's leader, inquired. It was not the leader he'd met earlier.

"I figure I got a chance. There are ten of you, maybe you split the money and run or maybe you take the money to your leader and let him decide. I don't know, but it's better than sure-fire death."

"Open it."

Finally, the moment had come. As soon as he heard the telltale click of the opening of the briefcase he shut his eyes tight and stepped through the door. Taking two steps forward, he figured the discharge must've passed. He opened his eyes. The ten gunmen stationed at this warehouse stood in two neat rows. In the centre, a familiar man garbed in black stood, holding a pistol to the head of a kneeling Joey, hands bound behind his back. The briefcase lay at Koji's feet, unclasped but still closed. Behind them, offset several feet to Kaiba's right, was Serenity, bound and gagged on a simple wooden chair.

"Koji, my former head of security." Kaiba stated cordially, folding his arms over his chest and taking in the situation carefully.

"Mr. Kaiba. Your good friend Joey Wheeler here was kind enough to explain to us your little plan. As such, we were prepared to anticipate your arrival. We decided that Master Vex only requires two deaths from us. Instead of being the two Wheelers it will be you and Mr. Wheeler here." Koji explained, his gaze deathly calm.

Kaiba took a step forward and instantly all ten of the guards pointed their firearms at him. "You worked for me for, what, two years? You never did take the time to get to know me, did you?"

"What do you mean?" Koji asked.

A dark smirk crossed Kaiba's face. Sliding another of the flash-bangs he had taken from his stepfather's munitions room into his palm, he closed his eyes and dropped it at his feet. The initial flash scorched his shin by the sheer heat but the effect was accomplished. Having the guards dazed, if only for a moment, he broke into a dead run and charged at Koji. He was almost within striking distance when the effect seemed to wear off and the gunmen pointed their weapons at Kaiba. Sliding one hand to his deck at his waist he tossed two lightning fast cards at Koji's right shoulder.

Deftly, Koji ducked the projectiles but Kaiba achieved his desired effect. Stepping high he drove one foot into Koji's shoulder, stepping down hard. The other he brought across his former employee's jaw as he threw himself backward into a leaping flip. The bullets had already torn from the guns of his antagonists and blurred through the air in a black streak. Deadly accurate, they hit where Kaiba had been the instant they fired. Of course, as Kaiba was fully two feet above that point and inverted, they drove straight through into Koji's chest.

Completing his flip, Kaiba landed on the ground in front on the falling corpse of the Ghoul. Snatching the briefcase from the ground he threw it into the centre of the room. The second the lid flew open the pressure-sensitive gas grenade inside exploded into an eruption of thick black smoke.

"Serenity, hold your breath. Mutt, get to the door!" He ordered, sliding a tactical gasmask out from the inside of his trench coat. The gas spread quickly through the entirety of the warehouse, just as it was designed to do. Eyes tightly shut breathing only through the thin mask, he made his way to where he knew Serenity was.

Stumbling into her, he slipped the gasmask onto her face. Next, he removed his cards from the lumber of the chair arms, where they'd imbedded themselves after striking their intended target: the ropes that bound Serenity's hands. "Can you get yourself free? I can't find your legs without groping you." Kaiba managed through the smoke.

Serenity nodded, then realized the foolishness of the motion and stated a simple, "Yes," instead. Reaching down to her ankles, she freed herself from the chair and rose. Suddenly, Kaiba heard gunfire and the shattering of glass. They were shooting out the windows! Clever bastards.

Kaiba lead Serenity to the wall and started following it to where the door lay. He was fast running out of breath and Serenity's gasmask was only good for three minutes. Furthermore, the smoke was now venting out of the warehouse and they had to be out before the Ghouls could be sure where they were. Even Kaiba doubted he could handle ten armed Ghouls at a time.

As if on cue Kaiba felt the bar of the warehouse door against his palm. Gently tugging against it, the door opened a crack venting smoke into the outside air. He pulled it back only as far as he needed and slid Serenity out. Moving to slide out himself, he stopped suddenly as a bullet tore through his shoulder. Blood spattered against the door and he couldn't keep it open, falling against the wall next to the heavy steel doors. Involuntarily, Kaiba gasped out for breath, inhaling a sharp mouthful of the acrid smoke, laced with only enough oxygen from the air that had seeped in to maintain consciousness. Robbed of his strength, Kaiba collapsed to the floor helplessly.

A robed Ghoul made his way to the target he'd struck, robe wrapped tightly around his face to filter the smoke. He pointed his pistol down at the fallen Seto. "Mr. Kaiba, this is the third time we've met. You ran a katana through my shoulder the first and struck me with a crowbar the second. There will not be a fourth." He cocked the pistol, and then fell unconscious to the floor.

Suddenly Kaiba felt himself being dragged, the door swung open and he was pulled into the clean air. Gasping for breath, he quickly looked about to see just who was dragging him. He almost wished he'd been left to die. Joey Wheeler stood over the fallen Kaiba, waving a hand in front of his face. "Rich boy, you alright?"

As his blood oxygenated again, Kaiba found his strength returning. Tenuously he rose to his feet. "Is that the only door to the warehouse?" He asked dismissively.

"There's a fire exit on the east wall but it's blocked by shipping crates." Serenity replied, helping Kaiba to his feet with a worried smile on her face.

"Bar the door." Kaiba ordered, stumbling towards his car not far away.

"With what?" Joey asked, and in response Kaiba tossed him a steel pipe.

"I was prepared." He stated simply and made his way to the door of the car. Mokuba glanced at him and a worried expression crossed his face.

"Seto, you're bleeding!" He stated.

"It's nothing." Kaiba muttered.

"At least let me put something on it!" Serenity insisted earnestly, glancing uncomfortably at the wound.

"There's no time." Blue-eyes shot back, "The midget needs our help if he's going to survive. He said he could take care of himself, but I seriously doubt that. Mutt, is Morgan still around with the limo?"

"A couple of blocks from here." Joey replied slowly.

"Call him, have him bring you, Mokuba and Serenity to warehouse 414 as quickly as possible. I'll meet you there." He commanded, sliding into the sleek silver car.

"I'm coming with you!" Mokuba answered, setting himself firmly in the seat.

Kaiba turned to Mokuba, his eyes fiery with determination, his face gleaming with sweat, soot and blood. "No." He said, with such a tone that Mokuba knew it couldn't be questioned. Obediently, he stepped out of the car. An instant later Kaiba was gone.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Despite the fact that he had never been to warehouse 414 at the Domino docks, Kaiba had no problem finding it. It was probable that anyone in or around the docks at the time could find the warehouse. It was the one encompassed in a giant black maelstrom sphere of churning and twisting energy. Seto had seen several such spheres before, it was a holographic trick Marik had used when duelling. Apparently it was a strategy his successor had adopted.

Pulling up as far as the edge of the orb, Kaiba was forced to go the rest on foot. It would not be possible to navigate the shadow sphere by car, but he would likely be able to find his way walking. Inhaling deeply, Kaiba stepped into the shadows.

As he navigated his way through the dark mist he found it was not nearly as obtrusive as he had originally assumed. He was still almost a quarter mile from the warehouse, but it was a distance that he could make on foot. It seemed he had more time than he had originally assumed. If Yugi had gotten the rare hunter to agree to a duel then he could spare the time to save his car.

Gradually Kaiba made his way to the door. He quickly inventoried his remaining resources: two flash-bangs, one strapped to the inside of either arm, a knife he had stowed in his boot, his deck, all forty cards, lethal projectiles when he needed them to be. Taking another deep breath he stepped through the door.

What he saw shocked him slightly. The warehouse was nearly empty, a few scattered scaffolds spread sparsely along the back wall. There were no crates, but it did boast a large shipping crane along the right side wall. There were seventeen gunmen in this warehouse excluding the leader, with whom Yugi duelled. Every one of the gunmen were lying unconscious on the floor of the warehouse, looking as though someone had gassed them out. He was too late to watch the duel: as he entered the door the duel ended, a draw.

"Kaiba…" Yugi called softly to the brunette as he collapsed on the floor.

"Seto Kaiba, so good of you to join us! I'm going to have to talk to my good friend Watanabe about the exact meaning of the phrase 'dead as a doornail'." Vex sneered at the CEO.

"Actually, he's currently an example of that particular colloquialism." Kaiba responded snidely. He turned to glance at Yugi, reaching down to check the fallen boy's pulse. "What did you do to him?" He asked again as he rose.

"Nothing. The stress of the shadow game simply overtook him."

"And the goons?" He continued, motioning to the fallen bodies.

"They outlived their usefulness. I sacrificed them in our duel. If I hadn't, the nameless pharaoh over there would have beaten me."

Kaiba raised an eyebrow toward the muscular leader of the Ghouls. "So where do we go from here? Your men failed to kill Joey or I and you failed to beat Yugi. Give us the old man and let us go in peace. Your plan has failed."

"It's the quintessentially characteristic of you, Seto Kaiba, that you said all of that without ever believing that I'd agree to any of it." Vex stated simply.

Kaiba nodded, "I don't approve of violence unless it's the only course of action. But it seems you intend to force my hand."

"Oh, my dear Kaiba, you won't even get close." Vex replied, baring his teeth and pointing the rod at Kaiba. A pulse of dark energy erupted from the end of the staff and struck Kaiba – and brushed off as though it were nothing.

"You just don't learn, do you?" Kaiba smirked as he charged at Vex. Grabbing the handle of the rod, Vex pulled the end of the rod off revealing a sharp blade underneath. Rearing it, Kaiba reacted reflexively, barely aware of his own actions. He planted his left foot forward and squatted, grabbing the knife from his right ankle and then twisting forward, bringing his blade against Vex's. "Clever trick." Kaiba quipped.

"Nice move." Vex quipped back. Both shook with exertion as the blades pushed against each other like battling rams. Finally, Kaiba realized that he couldn't sustain the struggle. The effort was causing blood to churn from the open wound on his shoulder, so he wisely retreated, planting one foot forward and kicking back out of range of the dagger.

Kaiba folded his arms, trying to appear like he was trying to look intimidating while actually carefully slipping one of the flash-bangs from under its strap on his arm. Timing would be crucial on this next move. "Well it's not really fair, you know." He stated, trying to draw attention away from his actions, "I'm injured and you're in perfect shape."

"I'm nearly as ragged as you from the exertion of the shadow game. Don't make excuses." Vex rebuked him.

"Oh, right. Well, if I'm lucky, maybe a magic elf will come by and I'll just have him defeat you for me." Kaiba sneered, rolling his eyes.

Vex planted his left foot and brandished the rod-dagger. "Shall we resume?" He asked.

"Absolutely." Kaiba replied, and heaved the flash-bang at the ground in front of him. As soon as Vex reeled from the blast he darted forward, slashing the blade against Vex's chest and snatching the rod from his failing grasp. An instant later Vex had recovered and grabbed Seto's wrists with his own strong hands. As he squeezed tightly, Kaiba's grip failed and he dropped the daggers to the ground. Desperate not to let Vex get hold of them, he kicked the weapons to the sides of the room.

Kaiba realized the door had opened and knew that it must be Serenity and the others. He began to feel dizzy as more of his lifeblood pumped out of the wound on his shoulder but he knew that he couldn't let his guard down now. He'd have reinforcements shortly.

Vex apparently realized the situation as well. Letting go of Kaiba's wrists, his hands dropped suddenly and he delivered a crushing blow to Seto's gut, bringing him to his knees in agony. Seizing the opportunity, Vex drove his knee into Kaiba's nose, breaking it and sending him sprawling on his back, writhing in agony.

Seeing Kaiba in obvious need, Joey rushed at the Ghoul leader. He had fought this one before, and had learned from his loss. He wouldn't be as aggressive this time, but he wasn't going to just sit on the sidelines. Vex clearly saw his charge and set himself to fight this new aggressor. Joey deftly ducked under Vex's leading right hook and drove his fist forward towards Vex's nose. The rare hunter blocked the blow with a bent elbow, and then extended the arm to connect with Joey's face. Stunned, Joey took a few steps backward but the vicious Vex was on him. Striking him in the face with a left, then a right, then a left-right-left Joey found blood spraying from his mouth. Dazed, he collapsed to the floor.

Suddenly Vex felt a surge of pain as Kaiba's foot drove into the front of the knee, forcing him to stagger back a few steps. Rising to a knee, Kaiba send his fist flying between Vex's legs, sending excruciating pain surging through his body. Springing upward, Kaiba's next punch was aimed squarely for the Ghoul's jaw. He never reached the height, as Vex's large fist drove into his shoulder, driving him back to the floor. Rage pumping through his veins, Vex kicked Kaiba in the face, lifting him clean off of the floor and careening back a few feet onto the hard concrete.

Blood now rushed freely from Kaiba's nose and mouth, as well as from his shoulder. Nearly sapped of all of his energy, Kaiba found he couldn't muster the strength to climb to his feet. He couldn't have managed to defend himself at the moment. As he soon realized, that was strength he'd have to find. Closing on Kaiba, Vex grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and lifted him off of his feet. Sneering, he began to drive his fist into Kaiba's face again and again.

Not far from where Vex stood, Serenity knelt over Yugi, but her eyes remained firmly on Kaiba. Tears ran down her cheeks as Kaiba began to scream with each shot. "You – killed – Master- Marik!" Vex bellowed as his fists made pulp of Kaiba's face. Weak and beaten, Kaiba's body hung limp. His screams became a gurgling noise from somewhere in his blood-choked throat. Ultimately, he stopped screaming altogether. Finished with him, Vex tossed his body to the wall opposite the crane. He turned toward Joey.

Rage still coursing throughout his body, Vex kicked Joey in the chest. Joey grunted in reply. Vex scooped Joey up by the throat and looked him in the eye, "You're going to pay for what you did to the Ghouls now." He hissed.

"I…didn't…do…anything!" Joey whined as the hand tightened on his throat.

Viciously, Vex tossed Joey head first to the concrete a few feet away. He began stalking toward Joey to repeat the process. Lying against the west wall, Kaiba felt his hand touch something metal. Agonizingly, he forced his swollen eyes open. It was the Millennium Rod, still missing the scabbard of the wicked dagger. Laboriously, he forced his hand forward and closed his fingers against the cold metal. Suddenly, the tool began to give off a refreshing gold glow. Kaiba felt moderate strength returning to him. It didn't ache so much to move. Slowly, he rose to his feet and began stalking toward the distracted Ghoul. He knew what he had to do.

With Joey in a vicious chokehold, Vex glared into his eyes. "Now, I get my just revenge." He declared, and began to squeeze. Joey closed his eyes and fought for breath, grabbing meekly at the firm hand on his throat. Suddenly, it relaxed and Joey dropped to the floor, gasping for air. Vex stood stunned, the Millennium Rod sticking out of his shoulder. Behind him, Kaiba was fully exerting herself simply to stand and his breath came in short, ragged breaths.

"And I get mine, you sick bastard." He spat.

Disbelievingly, Vex reached cautiously to his back and touched the end of the weapon with his fingertips, "You… shouldn't be able to stand…" He whined, and wrapped his hand around the weapon, pulling it from his back. Slowly, he turned on the wounded brunette, visibly wounded but apparently unfazed. "You aren't able to aim. That hurt, I'll admit, but not as much as this will."

Vex drew back the dagger and drove it forward at Kaiba's chest. It struck him with an immense force and drove him backward, crumpling to a heap on the floor. Incredibly, it hadn't broken the skin! That was impossible, unless… unless he was the entitled owner of the weapon. But how could that be, he didn't even believe in it's power! It didn't matter, Vex decided; he'd be dead in a moment.

Stepping toward Kaiba, Vex glowered at his fallen opponent. He was a pitiful sight. His face was almost not visible through the blood that covered it. He was shaking, his muscles contracting uncontrollably from trauma, and he lay in a growing puddle of his own blood. Vengeance was sweet, Vex thought to himself. He placed his foot on his foe's skull, planning to crush him like an ant. He never got the chance. Broad-sided by the swinging arm of the crane, it drove him against the wall with a resounding _thud_, crushing his ribcage and knocking him unconscious. The rod fell at Kaiba's feet.

Out of the crane stepped a very disquieted Serenity. She raced to her brother, motioning for Mokuba to see to his. "Joey, are you alright?" She cried as she reached her sibling's side.

"I'm fine, Ren." Joey groaned, rising to his feet. "How's Kaiba? He took a pretty vicious beating. I never saw him as the kind of guy to take a thrashing like that for anyone else's sake, especially Yugi's."

Mokuba had succeeded in wiping most of the blood off Kaiba's face and wrapping some tensile bandaging around the bullet wound. Having recovered the first aid kit from the car a moment earlier, he tended to his brother's injuries. Worry clear across her face, Serenity made her way to Kaiba's fallen form. "Seto? Seto, are you alright?"

Kaiba made a groan by way of reply and slid his eyes as far open as they would go. He relaxed visibly upon seeing both Serenity and Mokuba above him. They were safe. He had succeeded, and even rescued Yugi to boot.

A smile crossed Serenity's face. Kaiba was resilient. He would be all right. She glanced to the crushed body of the Ghoul leader. "Jeez, Seto, do I have to do everything myself? You could've tried a little harder, you know." She scolded sarcastically.

Kaiba raised a hand to Serenity and motioned for her to move her face in closer, like he wanted to say something but couldn't manage the volume. Serenity leaned in closely, attentively. Seto flicked her nose.

Grabbing her nose, Serenity pulled back and stuck her tongue out at the fallen Kaiba. It seemed for a moment like Kaiba was smirking back, then he turned to Mokuba. "Take the smelling salts out of the first aid kit and see to Yugi," he rasped, "See whether or not his grandfather is okay. I don't… don't see him here."

Mokuba nodded and did as he was told. Slowly, Joey made his way to the fallen Kaiba. "You alright there, moneybags?"

Kaiba nodded. It was a question he was getting tired of. Still, he was appreciative for Joey's help. He knew that if it weren't for the distraction the elder Wheeler had provided, he might not have survived the encounter. Though he was a skilled fighter, Vex had clearly outclassed him, with superior strength and in better physical condition. The two Wheelers helped Kaiba to his feet. As he rose, Kaiba snatched the Millennium Rod from the floor. Making his way to where the scabbard of the weapon lay, he retrieved it and slid it onto the blade. Serenity looked at him curiously.

"This belongs in a museum." He explained, sounding somewhat ridiculous even to himself. The truth of the matter was that he felt stronger when he held the artefact and his injuries stung less. He glanced away from Serenity as Yugi rose to his feet.

"Recovered yet, Yugi?" Seto asked sharply.

Yugi nodded slowly, "He let my grandfather go when I agreed to duel him. I don't know where he went." He explained.

Kaiba shrugged, or tried to, his muscles still seemed reluctant to follow his commands. "He'll turn up," he predicted. "Mokuba," he called, turning to his brother, "Where did you leave Morgan?"

"He's not too far outside. We saw the BMW a ways away. Why'd you stop so far off?" Mokuba recalled, raising an eyebrow to his brother.

Giving a dismissive shrug in reply, Kaiba started for the door. "We should go, then."

"Yeah," Joey agreed, making his way toward the large double door of the warehouse. "Anybody else hungry?"

"I could eat." Yugi chimed in.

Kaiba grunted irritably. Serenity could only giggle. "Not hungry, Seto?"

Stopping suddenly, Kaiba scratched the back of his head. Finally, he sighed heavily, "Anyone know a good doctor?"


	9. Phoenix

A/N: I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. I hadn't made up my mind whether to finish it up or go for one last conflict when I started writing, and… well, you'll see what happened. I hope it doesn't feel tacked on. I got some really glowing reviews over the last chapter. I'm glad you guys liked it! Thanks to everyone that took the time to review.

**Disclaimer**: Me no own nothin'. 'Nuff said.

**Chapter Nine: Phoenix**

Lying back in his bed in the hospital, Kaiba glanced out the window. One of his hands sat on the remote to the small, cheap TV hanging from the wall of his room. The other resisted perpetually in the pile of his personal effects on the nearby tabletop, his fingers gently touching the soothing metal of the Millennium Rod.

His mind drifted to Watanabe. The doctor had been a friend ever since his stepfather had adopted him. He'd been the one to teach him fencing to begin with, a skill that had saved him from what were, apparently, his co-conspirators. The betrayal had been worse than the beating he'd taken at Vex's hands. If Watanabe had been a traitor, who could he trust? Cecil? Serenity? Mokuba?

Mokuba was trustworthy, he was sure of that. He would not allow even a sliver of doubt to creep into his mind against his brother. Serenity… the girl had betrayed his trust once before, but it hasn't been malicious or intentionally cruel. Still, the results had been serious and had nearly cost his brother his life. Perhaps it would be best to take Serenity out of his life, he thought.

He dismissed the thought as quickly as it had come up. Despite her obvious flaws, and he had noted them, he found he was completely infatuated with the short redhead. It was an odd sensation. He had known love before, of course, but never this variety of it. In many ways, it was an emotion that he hated; irrational, unpredictable, co-dependant, the emotion's flaws were manifold. Nevertheless, it was those very flaws that made the feeling so invigorating, so exciting and so incredibly beyond his control.

As for Cecil, he was both not a threat and completely irreplaceable. Kaiba found he couldn't muster even the slightest suspicion toward the disarming Englishman who had been a surrogate father to him for much of his life, and the best friend he'd had, save for his dear brother. No, Watanabe was likely the only one of his inner circle that could have been turned against him. The doctor had been the type to complain about the size of the room he was given in the servants' quarters, or the amount of freedom he was given to leave the grounds. With Watanabe out of the way, it was simply a matter of finding a new doctor and shortening the leash.

Gradually, he allowed his mind to drift back to Serenity. Glancing at the clock, he knew she'd be here in another twenty minutes. Predictably, Yugi at least would be with her, probably the rest of the nerd brigade. He almost wished he'd asked for the painkillers: he felt a headache coming on. Brushing the metal of the rod softly again, he glanced to the sleeping form of his brother on a chair in the corner of the room and thought about the guards outside. They'd recognize Serenity.

He suddenly realized what he was doing with his hand, and for a moment he wondered if he was going insane. True, he found the cold golden metal of the rod comforting, soothing even, but why? It was an ancient artefact, one that doubled as a weapon, and he had no right to it. Still, perhaps he would keep it. After all, he deserved some type of compensation for his trouble. Yes, he would keep it. It was his.

He was interrupted from his musings by the sound of the door creaking open. Serenity slipped in and walked to his side. Kaiba acknowledged her and glanced at the door expectantly.

"Just me. I thought you wouldn't want anyone else here so I convinced them to stay home, this time." Serenity explained, catching the glance.

Kaiba smirked, "Am I really so predictable?"

"When it comes to my brother and Yugi, yes." She replied, taking a seat in the free chair and turning her gaze to the sleeping boy in the corner. "How's he holding out?"

"A little shaken up," Kaiba admitted, turning his head to regard his brother, "He trusted Watanabe. So did I, actually."

Serenity nodded and a few moments passed in silence. She looked over at the bedside table where Kaiba's hand lay in his personal effects. Beside the pile lay a stack of legal papers, "What are those?" She asked, motioning to the stack.

"Oh, it's a summons. Mokuba got a subpoena as well," He explained, reluctantly drawing his hand from the pile of clothing to pick up the papers.

"What are you supposed to testify for?" She inquired, genuinely curious.

Kaiba sighed heavily, "My own trial. I've had to keep the media away from it with a sharp stick, but that won't last once hearings begin." He answered, dropping the papers back to the tabletop.

"Trial?" she gasped incredulously, "What are you being tried for?"

"Murder," he answered flatly, "Sixteen counts. The largest murder trial in the history of Domino. It's sixteen counts because of my earlier statements. They tell me that what they sifted from the rubble so far amounts to eleven bodies, but it's likely the explosion disintegrated even more."

Serenity nodded slowly. She had heard about what Kaiba had done at the warehouse. It was clear that he had only done what was necessary to save his brother, but she understood that Domino's district attorney had always been one to see in black-and-white. "How do you feel?"

"About the trial?" Kaiba asked, and Serenity nodded. "Well, I killed them. In fact, I killed seventeen of them if you count me responsible for the way Koji died, and I do. It stands to reason that I should be held accountable for their deaths."

"But you were only defending yourself and your brother!" She cried, "You didn't have any choice in the matter."

Kaiba ran a hand through his hair and sighed audibly, "I don't want to justify murder. It's true, I didn't have any choice in the matter but if I start justifying killing than I'll become no better than my bastard stepfather, the creature that sold weapons to both sides of a conflict in the interests of keeping it going. If I start justifying the deaths of others as necessary then I'm no better than anyone who sacrifices others for personal gain. If I start-"

"Seto!" Serenity yelled. Kaiba stopped his tirade, relaxing a bit in his bed. "You aren't your stepfather, and you aren't a killer. Come on, you know better than that. You did what you had to in order to save your brother. You did the right thing."

Nodding slowly, Kaiba sighed. "I know. This whole affair has left a bad taste in my mouth, though. Where does it end?"

Serenity shrugged. She honestly didn't have an answer, but the exhaustion that played across Kaiba's face gave her an understanding of what the problem was. Seto had dozens of enemies, had been through seemingly endless struggles his entire life. This seemed like it was simply the next chapter in a story of battle and discord. And it was obvious that Kaiba was tiring of it. She decided to let the subject die at that. "Vex died earlier today," she stated, gazing out the window, "They said his injuries didn't look lethal, but it looks like he just…"

"Gave up." Kaiba finished for her, "Without his vengeance driving him he didn't have anything to keep him going, so he gave up."

The auburn haired girl had been nodding before Kaiba had even finished. Smiling, she turned back to Kaiba, "So what keeps you going, Seto?"

Kaiba thought about the idea for a moment. What did keep him going? His life had been a struggle since the beginning, and he knew that it wasn't likely going to get any easier. Still, he knew what the answer was, "Two things. Those I have to protect," he stated, looking to Mokuba, "And the driving force to be more than I am."

Serenity took Kaiba's hand and looked down at him. She smiled warmly, and used her free hand to brush the hair from his face. "I think you're plenty already."

Turning back to Serenity, Kaiba glanced into the girl's eyes. Why was she able to do this to him? To make his chest feel warm and sick all at once, to make him flush in the face and be more relaxed than he could with anyone. She was a paradox, that one.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The wind howled and tore at his open wounds, unclosed since his most hated enemy had inflicted them upon him. His mind, usually so clear and calculating, was a blur of hate and anger. In a few moments all of his plans he'd built for so long had come crashing down around him. In a few moments, his very life had been taken from him.

They thought he was dead. That was his only advantage. He'd survived, and now he planned to exact his vengeance. He knew Kaiba. Inside and out, he knew the intricacies of the powerful CEO. Even once he recovered from his injuries, he'd never find the strength to challenge Kaiba head-to-head. He had no intention of doing so. No, he knew Kaiba. He'd take away from him the things that he loved.

The injuries he'd inflict on his foe would be more than physical. He wanted more than just to watch Seto bleed. He would destroy his dreams, his hopes, and his loves. He'd break his spirit and leave him a weeping mass on the ground. He would make Kaiba regret his screaming, shrieking birth.

He lifted a hand and touched a patch of his black hair. A dull squealing noise emitting from his throat every time he forced a breath, but he pushed back his pain and his misery. The perch he'd found atop the building across from the Kaiba mansion would provide him with the sight he'd need to work his plans. The girl that Kaiba cared so much for would go first, he decided. The butler would be next, and he would relish that kill. He'd end his rampage with the bastard brother of the brunette. Yes, Kaiba would know great suffering. He would see to that.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was good to be back in his office, in his comfortable chair behind his familiar desk. Kaiba had been released the day of Serenity's visit and had immediately set to work on finding a new resident doctor for his mansion. The position was well sought after even though he hadn't advertised it. It was understood that it carried a hefty salary and a miniscule workload, as well as room and board beside that.

He had narrowed his choices down to three, and the one in front of him was currently his favourite. Mainly, he liked the fact that he'd had to pursue the doctor even to get him to agree to apply for the position; the idea of a doctor that took a job for money and laziness was unappealing. The physician was named Tai Kitsune, a twenty-something doctor that showed great promise in his early career. Despite the fact that Seto was at least five years younger than the doctor, he was clearly intimidated.

Kaiba looked up from the folder and nodded. "You have an excellent record, Doctor Kitsune-"

"Please, call me Tai." The older brunette chimed in, sitting bolt upright in the chair across the desk.

"You can relax, Tai," Kaiba replied, raising an eyebrow toward the other man. "You understand what the position entails?"

Tai nodded slowly, "Yeah, therein lies my only problem with the job. I… well, I became a doctor to help people. I don't think I'll be doing that much of that working in your mansion only looking after you and your staff."

"I can understand that," Kaiba muttered, glancing back down to the folder, "All the good doctors say that. Fact is, I don't expect this will be a lifelong position for you. Since my last doctor co-conspired in my attempted murder, I've grown loath of keeping staff around for more than a few years. You could use the experience, and the money you would make would certainly be useful in paying off your _extensive _student loans," he smirked, looking up from the paper, "And even more useful in furthering your career. A brief sojourn in my employ would allow you to fund a lot more work later in life." He stated matter-of-factly.

The brown-haired doctor nodded again. "Alright. I'll take the position." He answered.

Kaiba reached across the table to shake the doctor's hand, "Welcome to the mansion."

Tai shook Kaiba's hand and left the room, bumping into Serenity as she entered. Serenity made her way to the chair and smirked at Kaiba. "Well he's cute, is he your new doctor?"

"Not if you think he's cute." Kaiba stated flatly, not looking up from the paperwork he had to finalize to complete the employment.

Serenity giggled, "Well in that case, he's a horse-face."

Kaiba rose from his seat and made his way to Serenity's side. "Better." He stated simply and kissed the red haired girl.

Smiling brightly, Serenity hopped atop the couch next to the wall-mounted TV, eyes focussed on the handsome brunette, "So, what do you want to do?"

"Unfortunately," Kaiba groaned, sitting back at his office chair, "I have a fair amount of work that needs to be finished. So, well I'd love to beat you at the game of your choice I'm afraid I won't be able to find the time."

Serenity made puppy dog eyes at Kaiba, who simply rolled his eyes by way of reply. "Fine." She pouted as she hopped off of the couch, "When will you have time for me, your majesty?"

"Come back tomorrow." He said, looking apologetically to the pouting girl, "I'll have something planned by then."

Grinning, Serenity hopped to the door. "Oh, an ever-so-romantic surprise from the cold Mr. Seto Kaiba?" She asked.

"Something to shut the mouth of the girl who doesn't know when to stop pushing her luck." Kaiba shot back sarcastically.

Serenity stuck her tongue out at Kaiba and closed the door as she left the office. She strolled down to the lobby, where Cecil was waiting for her.

"Going home already, Miss Serenity?" He asked sadly.

"Yeah, I guess so." Serenity replied, "Seto's far too busy working for little old me."

"Sometimes I think that boy needs to straighten his priorities." Cecil remarked with a smile, "A girl as cute and caring as yourself ought not to be neglected."

Laughing, Serenity opened the door. "You tell him that, Cecil!" With that she walked out into the calm evening.

Despite being dismissed from the mansion so uneventfully Serenity found herself with an extra skip in her step. It seemed as though Kaiba and her brother had come to some kind of an understanding. Neither seemed to mention the other to her, and when it did come up they tended to respond with apathy instead of the usual ire. Kaiba was finally opening up to her like she'd hoped he would. He could be such a compassionate soul, but he chose to hide himself behind and icy exterior. Still, she was beginning to get a sense for who he was. She liked what she was finding.

Gradually, she became aware of uneven footsteps behind her, like someone was limping behind her. Nervously, she glanced over her shoulder. What she saw shocked her to the core. "I… I thought you were dead!" She cried, shivers running down her spine as she looked upon one of the most appalling sights of her life.

"I almost was." The figure replied darkly. "You are."

Serenity turned and broke into a run, darting down the street and toward her apartment. She could hear the figure behind her in pursuit, and though his walking was obviously laboured and limping he was gaining ground. Turning to the street she needed to follow next, she nearly screamed when she saw that it was closed: under construction. Unwilling to stop, she darted right into an alleyway. Running at full speed, she grabbed her cell phone from her pocket, dialling the first number she could think of.

"Kaiba." The response came from the other line.

"Seto! Seto, help! I'm being chased, he's going to kill me!" She screamed desperately into the phone.

"Where are you?"

"I'm in an alley off of Seventh Street right before the construction… oh God he's getting closer!" She shrieked.

"I'm coming." Kaiba replied, hanging up the phone.

Serenity turned. The man was storming down the alleyway toward her. Pinned against a wall, she had nowhere to run. She pounded the buttons on her cell, and it began ringing not far away in her apartment. "Pick up! Joey pick up!"

Breathing heavily, the figure slinked towards her. "Just relax and realize that this isn't about you, this is about the company you keep. Kept, sorry." He corrected himself.

Terrified, Serenity screamed where she was into the phone the second Joey picked up. Dropping the phone, she grabbed the lid of a garbage can to defend herself. Lunging at her attacker, she tried to drive it into his face. Effortlessly, the man deflected the blows and pushed closer to her. Her attacks became more forceful and less accurate as he closed the distance between the two of them. Finally, they were so close she couldn't even drive the lid forward any longer. Gently, the figure drove a needle into her neck, and then all the world was blackness.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Seto arrived at the scene not thirty seconds after Joey. He'd taken his favourite car, but Joey had been closer and so when he arrived the elder Wheeler was crouched over the younger. Striding to the pair, Kaiba kneeled beside Joey and checked the girl's breathing. She was still breathing, but it seemed shallow and forced. Her face was incredibly pale, and he knew she had been poisoned.

He rose to her feet and took a step toward his car. "Pick her up and bring her to my car, we'll take her back to the mansion."

"She needs a doctor." Joey stated, rising and turning to Kaiba.

"Which I have at the mansion." Kaiba shot back as though he were speaking to a child.

"I know what _your_ doctors can do." Joey spat at the CEO.

Turning in a split second, Kaiba's hand shot out and grabbed Joey by the collar of his shirt. He pulled him close, fire burning in his eyes, and stared straight into Joey's. "Listen, Wheeler," He spat, "You can hate me all you like, I don't care, but if you let _any_ harm come to that girl because you're too stupid to accept my help then you're not fit even to be called a dog. My mansion is closer and my doctor is better. We're taking her there. Now help, or I'll leave you in a dumpster in this alleyway." He let go, and Joey dropped to the ground.

Kaiba wheeled around and stormed back to the two-seater BMW. Joey followed as quickly as he could. "Put her in the front seat." Kaiba ordered, and Joey complied.

"Where will I sit-" Joey started, but Kaiba had already driven away.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The nerd brigade had assembled and was waiting silently in the living room that had so often held so much joy. Joey hadn't even bothered to say hello to his beloved Tess. Not a word had passed since the group had assembled there nearly two hours ago. Kaiba leaned against the wall of the room while Joey paced restlessly across the centre. Yugi, Tea, Tristan and Duke sat on the couches around the TV. Mokuba sat atop the pool table, staring at the floor below him.

Finally, Kaiba's patience ran out. "Will you stop pacing like that? Serenity's life or death doesn't depend on how much exercise you get!"

"Shut the hell up, rich boy! This wouldn't even have happened to her if she weren't always walking back and forth to your mansion. What's the problem, can't afford to drive her?" Joey hissed at the passive brunette.

"You son of a bitch!" Kaiba yelled, rising from the wall, "She chose to walk, she liked it. If you knew one goddamn thing about your _own _sister you'd know that! But you were always to pig-faced stuck on who you wanted her to be and not who she is!"

"I know who she is!" Joey bellowed, "And I know that she's lying there dying because of you!"

"Stop it, both of you!" Tea yelled, rising from her seat, "Do you think this is what Serenity wants?"

Joey looked sheepish, and sat down on one of the couches, grumbling to himself. Kaiba turned and glared at Tea, who matched his gaze. Giving a frustrated grunt he stormed off to his line of arcade games and stared disinterestedly at one of the demos.

A few minutes later Doctor Kitsune entered the room and walked over to where Kaiba was. He glanced tentatively up at his employer and finally asked, "Should I just give you the diagnosis or should I tell everyone."

"Tell them." Kaiba muttered, motioning to the expectantly watching group, "They have a right to know."

Tai nodded solemnly, and turned to the group. "I managed to diagnose the poison fairly quickly and took appropriate action. The antitoxin neutralized the poison and prevented it from doing any further damage however… much of the damage was already done. Her pulse and respiration are steady and her situation is stable, but neural function is at a nearly neutral level and her motor functions are nil. It's probable that she's aware, on a subconscious level, but her visual, olfactory and tactile senses don't seem to be responding. She can probably hear you, but for all intents and purposes she's in a coma. As there are no underlying physical causes of the coma, so far as modern medical science can determine, there's nothing I can do. It's unsure at this point whether her state will improve or degenerate as time pass. I'm sorry."

A few moments passed in profound silence. Finally, Joey piped up, "So, in layman's terms…?"

Tai glanced at Kaiba as if to ask whether or not he was serious. Kaiba gave a grim nod of affirmation and the physician turned to regard Joey. "Serenity sleepy and no wakey. Me no know why. Me no can help her."

Leaping from his seat, Joey lunged at the doctor but was held back by Tristan and Duke. Kaiba nodded again muttered, "You did what you could, Tai. Is there some kind of psychologist I can call to find out the psychological causes of the coma?"

Shaking his head slowly, Tai shrugged, "I don't think so. By all reasoning it's as though she's paralysed and in a catatonic state. Unless you have some way of _convincing _her not to be in a coma, I don't think there's anything that can be done."

Kaiba nodded, and left the room.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Mokuba found his brother on the third floor balcony. He was staring off into the garden and wrapped in his own thoughts. Walking to stand next to his brother, he stood in silence for some time, hoping to comfort Kaiba by his presence. Finally, he decided to ask the question burning in his mind.

"What are you thinking?" He asked.

Kaiba stood in silence for some time and Mokuba suspected that he wouldn't say anything at all. Eventually, he cleared his throat and declared, "The sun will rise again."

Mokuba gave an acknowledging sigh. That was his brother's way of saying that life would go on. He'd said the same thing the day their father had died. Mokuba made for the door back into the house, but Kaiba wasn't finished.

"The sun will rise again, and it will set again. Summer will pass into fall, which will fade into winter and spring again. Years will pass. People will be born and people will die, and everything will continue as if there had never been a Serenity Wheeler." Kaiba pronounced, his voice showing weakness in his façade, "But not me. For me, there's only the pain of loss. I'll never see her laugh, or smile again. She'll never piss me off again only for me to realize that I can't stay mad at her. She'll just lie there. Lie there as life goes on all around her. That's what they tell me. And you want me to just accept that?" He asked, his voice beginning to crack, "Is there something fundamentally wrong with me wanting to be happy? Is that not something that I'm entitled to? Why does this happen to anyone I even begin to care about?" He demanded, shouting more at the sky above than at his brother.

"I'm still here, Seto." Mokuba managed after a moment of silence.

Kaiba knelt and wrapped his arms around his brother. "I know, Mokuba. But… but I can't accept this. I'm going to do something about it."

"What?" Mokuba asked cautiously, looking up to his older brother.

"I don't know." Kaiba admitted, "But I make my own fate, and as long as there's a chance for Serenity I'm going to fight with every once of strength I have. And nobody better stand in my way."


	10. Invocation

A/N: Wow, this chapter turned out _nothing _like I had expected it to. But I like it better. There are some sections in this chapter that include a lot of jargon, but I think I did an okay job of making it comprehensible. The medical theories expounded in this chapter have no basis in reality and are not sound. Please, don't try any of them at home. I'm glad to see the reviews for chapter nine were solid, I wasn't sure how it was. Thanks to everyone that reviewed. You guys are great.

**Disclaimer**: The only things I own in this chapter are the bizarre medical theories.

**Chapter Ten: Invocation**

It was difficult to recall anything that had happened before this point. In fact, it was difficult to recall _if _anything had happened before this point. Somehow she felt that the dreariness of this graveyard was all she'd ever known. For that matter, what was a graveyard? Far, far above she could see a faint light that gave the only visibility to the darkness around her. Sounds echoed from above from time to time, that sounded like voices underwater. Then again, what was water? Probably something she'd made up, she decided. After all, there was nothing like that here.

The ground beneath her was a dark shade of moonlit blue, dry and crumbly dirt that composed the floor of the only world she knew. Everything around her had that bluish quality about it, from the dry dirt to the pervasive fog to the tombstones that were spread across the ground. They varied in size and shape from small, rudimentary tablets to large statuesque memorials. The one she was leaning on, for the young woman was leaning, was a tall monolith topped with a fierce, almost draconic, gargoyle. It was impressive, but had an eerie quality about it.

The girl stepped away from the statue and turned to regard the inscription, which she had been leaning against. She found that she couldn't read it, or even recall what to read was. Still, the shapes seemed comforting. Something deep in her mind screamed that she recognized those letters. Yes, they were letters! She remembered the sounds that they made. "Ser-en-it-y Wheel-er." She sounded out slowly. That was her name, wasn't it? Yes! She was Serenity Wheeler. That was nice to know.

A shriek in the distance pulled her back to the present. The sound of the call had sent a chill down her spine. Somehow, she knew that the shriek had come from something bad and that that something was searching for her. She had to run away. Desperately, Serenity made a dash in the opposite direction of the shriek. Or tried to. She found that her legs wouldn't obey her command.

"Come on! Come on! Run, you stupid legs! Run, or it'll get us!" She screamed at the appendages beneath her. "Don't sabotage me at a time like this! Not after everything we've been through together!" Sure, it was ridiculous. They were part of her, she understood. More than that, they hadn't been through anything together. She was fairly sure that this was the first time she'd used them.

Another shriek sounded, this one closer than the other. Serenity grabbed her left leg with her arms and forced herself to move forward, forcibly moving her legs for each step. Gradually, her feet seemed to catch on and started moving independently. This resulted in a boost in speed that she felt boded well for her chance of escape. Now running away from the sound, she found she had some difficulty dodging the assorted stones with her clumsy limbs. Stumbling as she struck one, she plummeted to the ground.

A big red mark was on the shin that had struck the small tombstone. "Gee, this walking thing is tough." She thought aloud. Slowly, she found her way to her feet and practiced steering for a bit. Another report from the creature following her informed her that she didn't have time to waste on such things, so she broke off running again. It was about this time she discovered that her head was on some kind of pivot and that, if she tried, she could turn it to either side. This would come in handy, she decided.

Her practice in steering was paying off and she found that she had little trouble dodging the rocks that composed the graveyard. Feeling confident in her abilities, she glanced back over her shoulder to check on her pursuer. She saw it bearing down on her from not far behind. It seemed to be little more than a fluttering sheet of black fabric, but it was easy to see that there was some force driving it. Two skeletal hands reached from within the cloak and held a menacing looking scythe. Driving her legs as fast as she could, she fled from the creature, her body quivering in fear.

A few moments later the creature had nearly closed the distance between the two of them and was swinging his scythe at her fleeing form. She could see the black cloth with her peripheral vision by this point, and knew that there was no way she could escape from the creature. Without warning, a green streak shot from behind a tombstone before her and through the black cloth. Splitting clear in two, the black form's momentum propelled it passed her where it disintegrated a moment later. From behind her, a voice spoke.

"That will not stop the Reaper for long. We'd best be moving, Serenity." The deep, gruff voice declared.

Serenity turned to regard her saviour. He wore a blue cape covering green and brown armour. Atop his head was a green and silver helmet, adorned with blade-like horns. Beneath the helmet he wore his brown hair short, well kept. As he turned to face her, she saw his deep blue eyes sparkle from beneath. He held a sword firm in hand, obviously the tool he'd used to defeat that creature, and his eyes were hard and determined. Somehow, she associated a word with this creature.

"Seto?" She asked, blinking at the warrior.

The warrior said nothing, but grabbed her hand and darted away in another direction. Serenity had no choice but to follow. He led her downhill into a dale where the ever-present fog would shield them from airborne scrutiny. Further leading her to a niche in a cliff face that blocked sight from all but three sides, he let her go and turned his gaze to stare out into the mists.

"I'm not Seto." The warrior stated finally, after several minutes had passed in silence. "But I'm not… _not _Seto."

"I don't get it." Serenity admitted, glancing at the warrior from the rock she had taken a seat atop.

"You're asleep, Serenity. I don't know how long you've been asleep, but you are. This is only a dream and I'm the Kaiba you came up with. Half Kaiba, half Celtic Guardian actually. All of this…" He explained, motioning to the endless cemetery outside the niche, "…is the world you made up to protect yourself from an attack. Can you remember what might have led you to make this world?"

Serenity thought for a while, "No. Why is that important? If this is a dream, can't I just wake up?"

"Not so simple." Kaiba Guardian answered, "You made this world, and there's a special way to leave it. It might be something easy, like a door or it might be something more difficult, like… I don't know, killing the Reaper."

"Why would I make up a world in which I'm chased by a monster all day?" Serenity asked irately, frustrated by the blankness in her mind.

"Perhaps guilt. Perhaps fear. Perhaps it's just part of a memory that you incorporated into this world. All I know is that we won't find the way out of here sitting in this valley. It'll be hard to do this alone. Do you think you can do it?" He asked her.

"I'm not alone. I have you." Serenity replied, rising from her seat.

The guardian looked to the dull light emanating from the roof of Serenity's world. "Perhaps you do." He whispered, "Perhaps you do."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The largest room of the Kaiba mansion was almost never used. Nestled under the mansion, the room was large and unadorned, made of nothing but black concrete on all sides. The room housed the most expensive piece of equipment in the mansion, the Kaiba Corp supercomputer. Incredibly powerful and networked to thousands of miscellaneous databanks worldwide, the computer was the second most powerful in Japan. The most powerful was the prototype 'Balthasar' computer in Tokyo, an experimental supercomputer built by the Japanese government.

Kaiba rarely let anyone else into the room, but this time he had no choice. He and Tai Kitsune had reconfigured the computer to analyse possible attempts to bring Serenity from her coma by using multiple medical databases that were configured into the computer. They had been running probability simulations for ten straight hours now and hadn't found a procedure with more than an eleven percent chance of success.

Tai was the kind of person Kaiba could easily take a liking to. Intelligent and passionate, the young doctor had a sense of humour that was to the younger CEO's liking and enough respect for Seto to make their interactions favourable. The condescension the two men felt for most of the rest of the populace was a main commonality between the two. Both were of superior talent and intellect and, moreover, they were well aware of it. However, circumstances made the situation less than comfortable for either.

"Have we considered the use of hypnosis?" Tai asked, leaning back in the leather swivel chair he'd been relegated to away from the keyboard of the massive CPU.

"I normally don't like it," Kaiba admitted, turning his chair to face Kitsune, "Has it been done before with any kind of result?"

"In purely psychological cases not unlike this one," Tai started, turning to the computer, "It's been implemented with limited success. Admittedly, I don't think it's ever brought anyone out but it's increased responsiveness before. Try simulating possible results if we include hypnotic suggestion with a pain-based shock therapy to stimulate neural activity."

Kaiba nodded and implemented the data into the computer. The screen quickly became a blur of calculations and possible results, calculating every possible outcome of the regimen and the probability of each. A few seconds later it spit out the result. "Eight percent chance of successful recovery, with a five percent chance of permanent neural damage, especially in the cerebral cortex." Kaiba read, disappointment clear in his voice.

A few more moments passed before Kaiba sprang to life again and suggested, "Would some kind of medication to force a reaction work? Something to bring her to a slightly higher level of consciousness? I hate to suggest it, but we could induce a seizure or something of the kind."

A shrug was the reply he received. "The idea is sound, but the brain isn't responding to tactile sensations, so it would be necessary to further poison her or something equally dangerous."

"That's not the kind of risk I'm willing to take just yet." Kaiba admitted.

Tai nodded solemnly, subconsciously playing with a pen in his hands. Finally, he had an idea, "It's obvious that we need an unconventional solution. We've been trying to come up with out-of-the-box treatments, but perhaps we're simply not looking far enough out of the box."

"What are you suggesting?" Kaiba asked.

Tai stood up and gazed at the leftmost of the three gigantic screens that ran along the tetrahedral walls of the room. "What if we use a tiny commutator to stimulate the synaptic nodes? We could hardwire the brain to stimulate basic neural functions. If we restore basic functions without requiring any neural activity we could bring her to a level of semi-consciousness that might snap her out of it."

Even as Tai was still speaking Kaiba began to input the data into the computer. It was a ridiculous theory, using an electronic device to trick the body into believing the brain was thinking. In turn, they would trick the brain into believing the body was responding forcing Serenity to a higher level of consciousness. Again flaring to life, the computer quickly calculated the possibility of success.

"Thirty-four percent chance of success." Kaiba read, "With any failure causing permanent cerebral damage and likely collapsing most of the nerve synapses. Our highest yet, but with a much greater risk."

The young doctor understood what that meant. The theory was sound but it was unlikely that they'd be able to implement it without causing permanent damage, even paralysis, to Serenity. They'd backburner the idea. Kaiba had already stated that any potentially dangerous solution wouldn't be implemented until they were sure that she wasn't going to improve without it.

Kaiba rose and made for the door. "Keep thinking." He ordered as the door slid open. "But don't touch anything. I have an idea I want to think about."

It was true, the suggestion Tai had given had gotten him thinking about another possible option. It was ridiculous, he knew, more so than suggesting to tap into Serenity's brain, but if there was even a remote chance it could work he had to try.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The first phase of his plan had nearly been successful. In any case, he'd taken Serenity out of Kaiba's life and probably further wounded him out of sheer frustration at his impotence to help the girl. He knew Kaiba and he understood that the idea that there was nothing he could do would do more to hurt the man than anything else. Kaiba was a man of action, and inaction would eat at him like a virus. A virus that would eventually consume him.

The next step was to kill the butler. This would be difficult, as he never left the house. He was the only one of the servants to be given a room in the mansion itself, and he wasn't required to leave the grounds on any work, nor did he feel inclined to do so for recreation, unfortunately.

Perhaps it would be necessary to rearrange his plans. Mokuba would be an easier mark even with the beefed-up security around the Kaiba mansion. Kaiba, of course, had thought that the threat had passed. He would likely either pass this latest incident with Serenity off as a random attack or at least unrelated to his brother. He would sit in his perch and wait until Mokuba left. And when he did, he'd cut the little bastard from ear to ear and spill his blood on Kaiba's own doorstep.

Another thought began to build in the back of his mind. Perhaps he would kill Kaiba when it was all over. The man would be emotionally broken and in no situation to fight. Even if he was, the man knew he was a superior combatant. He'd proven that much already. Weakened by his injuries, true, but still superior. Yes, once he'd sent Kaiba through an emotional hell he'd send him to the real one.

One step at a time, he rebuked himself. If he became too aggressive he would find himself in a trap. He'd wait, first, for this to blow over. Wait until the situation was almost forgotten. Then he'd strike. He had nothing else to do with his time but sit and wait until Kaiba exposed himself. He had nothing else to do but wait for vengeance, nay, for justice.

No one wronged him with impunity.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The dogged pursuit continued as Serenity and her guardian fled from the creature. It had returned, as predicted, and descended upon them shortly after they'd begun there search. Serenity had found her legs somewhat more than before and it seemed almost a standoff, but the creature still had an edge in that it didn't need to avoid the scattered tombstones and so it gained slowly on the pair. Seto seemed tireless, but Serenity felt her feet beginning to falter. The pursuit was in its third hour and she couldn't run anymore.

"Seto… I can't… keep going." She whined as she struggled to keep up with Kaiba.

Nodding his understanding, the Celtic Guardian swooped her into his arms in a single motion and kept running. Clutching herself tightly to his chest, Serenity watched the Reaper over his shoulder. They ran like that for several minutes, but Serenity realized that even the fit Kaiba wouldn't be able to maintain the pace with her added weight. She could see in his eyes that Seto knew that as well.

Turning sharply, her guardian leapt over a nearby precipice and took the fifteen-foot fall to the ground. He rose and ducked behind a large, simple tombstone not far away and pressed himself hard against the cold rock, holding Serenity tight to himself. He waited only a few moments before the Reaper flew overhead, casting it's head about curiously as he hunted for them. Stealthily, he slipped around to the other side of the stone and motioned for Serenity to be quiet.

It seemed like an hour passed before the sound of the Reaper leaving in another direction, cloak flapping, could be heard. Kaiba relaxed, releasing Serenity carefully. The small girl slumped to the ground and gathered herself up, putting her back to the nearby precipice and looking at Kaiba.

"What do we do now?" She asked, her voice hushed for fear of the Reaper.

"I don't know." The guardian admitted, "Have you remembered anything else?"

Serenity shook her head. She'd been racking her brain since their earlier conversation to remember anything, even where she knew Kaiba from or who Kaiba was. Another name, Joey, also stuck out in her mind but she couldn't even put a face to that name. Again she searched her mind but came up with a blank. "I'm sorry, nothing," she apologized.

Kaiba nodded grimly, "Don't feel bad, you're trying your hardest. We can stay here and rest for a while. At least, until the Reaper returns."

The fog seemed to thin for a moment and Serenity got a better sense of the area around them. The graveyard seemed to stretch infinitely in every direction, lit only by the soft glow from above. The dim light prevented her from making out much more than the dark forms of the grave markers, but it was obvious they would find nothing else. A fair distance away, she could make out the form of a jagged piece of land jutting out from the ground.

"What's that?" She asked, pointing to the spire of stone in the distance.

The guardian glanced over to follow where she was pointing, and then turned back a moment later. "That's the highest point, as far as I know, in this graveyard. I suppose it's a logical place for us to search," he answered, "But we'll wait until you're feeling up to it."

Serenity nodded her agreement and tried to catch her breath. She'd done more running that day than she thought that she was capable of. Her forehead and arms were slick with sweat, but it took only a few moments for the chill in the air to turn her sweat into goose bumps. There was never any sunrise here. It was cold, and dark. She wanted to go home, wherever that was.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Kaiba found himself sitting in his office chair, rolled back a good way from where it usually sat against the desk. His eyes stared, impassive, almost unseeing, at the object lying on his desk. The Millennium Rod sat on the desk, gleaming despite the fact that the only lighting in the room was the halogen lights on the ceiling. What a ridiculous thought he was entertaining!

He'd spent way too much time around Yugi Moto and his deranged friends. The rod on his desk was a cleverly designed piece of metal. It was nothing more than that. It was an old weapon, one that was obviously dull, as it'd failed to piece his skin when Vex had stabbed him with it. The artefact had history, true, but it remained a piece of metal. It had no answer for him.

And still he couldn't drive the idea from his mind. Was he going insane? Had the stress of Serenity's attack finally driven him off the deep end? Sighing heavily, he stood and paced across the room. True, he had said that he would do whatever it took, but that didn't mean he'd entertain such folly for… for what? A faint flicker of hope, that was all. Misguided hope, nothing would come of it.

And still the idea would not leave his mind. He must truly be insane. Slowly, he glanced back at the rod. Purposefully, he strode to the rod and wrapped his fingers around the handle. So be it. He would be insane and happy.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Serenity was still tired when she had told her Kaiba Guardian that she was ready to head out. By this point she was exhausted, as the two charged headlong up the spire that she had located earlier. The Reaper was in pursuit once more and the two found they could nowhere near match his flying pace in an uphill charge. A quick glance at her companion told her that he knew they were doomed.

"Keep running!" Kaiba urged her as though it weren't obvious. Serenity only nodded, too winded to reply.

Suddenly, Kaiba stopped and turned, leaping toward the Reaper. Sword swinging furiously, he landed blow after blow on the shadowy form of their antagonist. But the Reaper would not be taken so easily this time, and he drove the handle of the scythe against Kaiba to drive him back. Taking the blow in stride, Kaiba swung his blade in an arcing slash down at the Reaper who easily blocked the blow with the scythe. Driving the handle against Kaiba's chest again, the Reaper charged at the reeling warrior. The Reaper sailed straight at Kaiba, scythe swinging in fast. The guardian was ready, however, and he ducked beneath the swinging blow. Seizing the opportunity, he brought his sword in another vertical slash through the bottom half of the Reaper- and hit nothing but air. Spinning in a second, the Reaper brought his scythe around again and decapitated the off-balance warrior.

Serenity had reached the pinnacle of the rock formation and had been watching in a tense silence. She screamed as she saw the Reaper sever the head from her only companion, but her fear was nothing compared to what she felt when the Reaper turned back toward her. Her body froze with fear as the Reaper began to make its way up the peak. She needed help, and fast.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Kaiba strode into the guest room in which Serenity lay. They had moved her there for greater comfort, and the medical equipment had been similarly relocated. Tai was in the room at the moment, checking vital signs and nerve responses. He turned from the instruments when Kaiba entered, looking quizzically at his employer. Joey was in the room as usual, watching over his sister. He rose to his feet when Kaiba entered, his eyes leaping to the Millennium Rod in Seto's hand.

Acting almost without registering his movements, Kaiba placed the end of the rod to Serenity's forehead. Joey leapt at the action and lunged toward Kaiba, but Tai shot his arm out to hold him back. The young doctor had only known Kaiba for a few days but he understood the CEO's feelings toward the girl. He wouldn't hurt her. The younger brunette didn't notice any of what transpired. His focus was the girl below him, his purpose: her welfare. Eyes burning with determination, he didn't seem the least bit surprised when the artefact began to emit a golden glow. Like a man possessed, he spoke without hearing his own words.

"Serenity Wheeler, wake up, I command you!" He declared, his eyes never once leaving Serenity's face. Ten seconds passed… twenty… thirty. Nothing happened. Kaiba seemed to break out of his trance and he furiously cast the rod into a corner of the room. "I think part of me expected that to work." He admitted, and made for the door of the room.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The Reaper was mere feet away from her, biding it's time, circling her and swinging its blade menacingly. Above her, she heard more sounds like blurred voices, and turned her eyes skyward. Suddenly, a voice boomed clear from the sky above her. "Serenity Wheeler, wake up, I command you!" It called, and Serenity felt herself answer.

Her body drifted skyward, but the Reaper wasn't willing to let her go that easily. Taking to the air, the form of her hunter drew closer to her, swinging its blade at her to snare her legs. Serenity willed herself forward, up and up, away from the ground below. The dull light grew brighter and brighter. From behind her, the Reaper hissed as the light seared its flesh and drove it to the ground below. A moment later, all was light.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Kaiba stood in the doorway, one hand resting on the solid frame. Not only had he failed to save her, but he'd made a fool of himself in front of the mutt and the doctor. Still, he didn't care about that. He cared that the emptiness inside him felt a bit deeper now, that each time another hope was dashed he lost that much more of his drive. He lifted his head up and decided to head back to the supercomputer.

From behind him, a voice gently called to him, "Seto?"

He stood stunned for a moment, and then turned. Serenity's eyes were open and she was staring straight at him. "Thank you… for calling me." She said softly.

Kaiba strode to her side and looked into her eyes, "From the depths of hell." He stated simply, and a genuine smile crept across his face.


	11. Caveat

A/N: This is almost definitely the third to last chapter, unless I can't fit what I need to into the next one. It's full of romance and intrigue, and I think it builds nicely to what will be the emotional climax in the next chapter. Thanks to everyone again who took the time to review, especially those that took the time to give a more detailed review letting me know what especially was good. That's really the only way I know what to do more of.

**Disclaimer**: Contrary to popular belief, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

**Chapter Eleven: Caveat**

Joey found himself surprisingly unhappy. He had thought that, with Serenity back, he'd be overjoyed but instead he found himself brooding. He was not jealous, certainly not. How could he envy Kaiba for the attention of his own sister? No, he certainly wasn't jealous, rather, he was… concerned. For Serenity. Kaiba was a dangerous man, he knew that. He'd known that from the beginning of the relationship between the two, so why hadn't he done anything? For one, Serenity had seemed to genuinely enjoy her time with Kaiba, and though Joey was protective he wasn't the kind to keep his sister from something she enjoyed.

Well, within reason. This was getting to be too much. Serenity had gone through a lot already simply because of her connection to Kaiba, and Joey was getting worried. He settled that that was the source of his unhappiness. He would lay down the law when his sister got home. She was not to see Kaiba anymore. It was a bad relationship, and one she'd end up hurt by. He wouldn't allow it. He couldn't stop it.

He knew that as soon as he thought it. Shifting on the couch, Joey stared unseeing at the screen of the television. Serenity was her own person, always had been, and he knew that nothing he could do would force her to leave Kaiba. He didn't want to make her unhappy, that was true enough, but still… He was concerned for her, he assured himself again. He just needed to talk his feelings out. He needed a friend. So he picked up the phone and called the person he knew would want to help him most.

"Duke? It's Joey."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The gunmetal car swung around the corner at an incredible speed. Streaking past its pink and yellow rival it sprang forward as the engine was flooded with nitrous oxide, the speed boost leaving the opponent far in the dust. It flew around the next corner, expertly weaving through traffic and hit the next straightaway in a solid fourth gear. Searing across the pavement fast approaching its top speed, its driver suddenly came to a realization.

Taking his eyes off of the television to glance at Serenity, Kaiba could tell she was getting frustrated. This would be the fifth game she'd lost at to Seto today and he could see that she was losing her fighting spirit. Glancing back at the screen, a grin worked across his usually stoic face. In the interests of sustaining further competition from the girl, it was time to take a dive. Purposely, Kaiba accelerated into the next turn. The car lost its traction and spun out, driving headlong into a wall. There was no way Kaiba could win after such an accident.

Serenity, however, wasn't buying. She knew Kaiba too well to believe that he'd accelerated into that turn for any other reason than to throw the game. "Oh no you don't!" She scolded, forcing her car into a spinout and ploughing headfirst into the wall just behind Seto. "No way I'm letting you take a fall to win brownie points."

Kaiba tried to look as shocked as possible, "Take a fall? I would never-"

"Oh, stuff it." Serenity shot back with a giggle, "You know as well as I do that you're not dumb enough to screw up like that and I'm not dumb enough to buy that."

Again, Kaiba feigned being struck, "Well, I don't think that's anything less than an accusation. I hope you know that I already have one trial on the go, I'm not sure I can handle another."

Serenity stuck her tongue out. She was willing to play along, "Well then it's a good thing that I'm judge, jury and executioner."

Kaiba grinned fiendishly, "Well then, what's my punishment?"

Mounting the brunette in one fluid motion, Serenity began a methodical attack of all usual ticklish points. Kaiba simply continued smirking at the girl. Realizing the uselessness of the assault, Serenity hmph'ed loudly and folded her arms on her chest. "Not fair. You're not ticklish!"

"You are." Kaiba declared and rolled so he was atop the smaller girl. Having had quite a bit of experience tickling from his escapades with Mokuba, Kaiba skilfully attacked the ticklish points sending Serenity into a laughing fit. Her face flushed, her hair spread wildly as she writhed to try to escape from Kaiba. To the handsome CEO, the girl had never looked cuter. Leaning closer to her, he stopped tickling and pressed his lips against hers, leaving his hands on her sides. Serenity gave a pleasant squeal of surprise and slid her hands up his arms and into his hair. They stayed in that embrace for a moment, and the kiss deepened. Serenity carefully slid one hand down his shoulder and onto his chest. A second later, she grabbed his nipple hard and twisted, a trick she'd scene her brother use on Tristan dozens of times.

Howling in pain, Kaiba pulled away instantly, clutching his bruising chest. Shocked, he looked up at his aggressor. Serenity folded her arms over her chest, satisfied. "Justice is served." She stated flatly, and then stuck her tongue out at him.

Kaiba fell back onto his butt, still grabbing the nipple. His face contorted slightly in pain, flushing red, he blinked at the girl, "What do you even _call _that?" He asked, his voice thick with surprise.

"It's a purple nerple." She answered, "Boy have you missed out on having siblings. I guess you and Mokuba don't do things like that."

Shrugging, Kaiba relaxed a bit. "A little. I'm familiar with the noogie, the wedgie, the awful waffle…"

"Awful waffle?" Serenity cut in, raising an eyebrow and giggling.

"Sure." Kaiba answered, "You've never heard of it?"

Serenity shook her head, "Please, explain."

Shrugging, Kaiba thought about how to explain it. "Do you know what a pink-belly is?"

A shake of the head was her reply.

"A pink-belly is when you pull someone's shirt up to expose their stomach, then slap it until it turns pink, hence the name. An awful waffle is basically the same thing except you apply syrup to the stomach first. Makes your hands stick and slurp and makes the entire procedure all the more unpleasant."

Serenity shook her head and laughed. She wasn't sure which was funnier, the actual procedure or the way in which Kaiba, Seto Kaiba, was explaining it to her. Her entire body shook with laughter as she took in the scene, causing Kaiba to raise an eyebrow at the girl.

"What?" He asked, still rubbing his injured chest.

The auburn haired girl shook her head again, calming down slightly, "I never figured you for the prank type. You tend to seem aloof of such things."

Kaiba nodded his agreement, "True enough. Cecil taught Mokuba to noogie, and it escalated from there." He admitted, running his free hand through his hair, "Not falling into _that_ ambush again," he added under his breath.

Serenity laughed aloud, "Cecil! Cecil taught Mokuba to pull pranks?"

Giving a grim nod, Kaiba seemed less amused, "He said that I needed to lighten up about things, and thought that was a good way to do it. This… purple nerple is a new one on me, though."

Smiling broadly, Serenity crawled over to where Kaiba sat, "Oh, there, there, princess, I'm sure it'll be alright."

Kaiba scooped the small girl into his arms and stared into her eyes for a moment. Serenity gazed back, nearly falling into Kaiba's beautiful blue orbs. Finally, Kaiba cracked a genuine smile, "Why can't I stay mad at you?" he asked, pulling the girl against himself.

"Oh, you know." Serenity answered, grinning at the brunette.

Nodding slowly, Kaiba pressed his forehead against Serenity's. In a defeated voice, he muttered, "It's because I'm in love with you, isn't it?"

Serenity smiled broadly and nodded, moving Kaiba's head as a result, "You bet. It's unavoidable now. If it's any consolation, I love you too."

"Well, if I'm going to suffer…" Kaiba thought aloud with a smile, "At least I'm not suffering alone." With that, he drew the girl in for another kiss.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Serenity stepped through the door and declared that she was home. Apparently, Joey was not. She and Joey had lived together for only a few months now but it was the best, and simultaneously the messiest, home she'd ever had. In fact, they'd been living together since Joey was old enough to get the lease. The building they lived in was cheap and their home _may_ have qualified as a slum but it was better than living with either of her parents.

Plopping herself down on the couch, Serenity threw her feet up onto the milk crate coffee table in front of it. Instantly, she retracted her feet and picked up the rotting pear that had been there since her kidnapping almost a week earlier and rising to deposit it in the garbage. Joey was such a slob. He'd probably gone off to defile Yugi's house. Well, it gave her a few minutes to herself and that was tolerable. Kaiba had insisted that she be escorted home in the limo. Since she'd told him who her attacker was, he'd been almost as protective of her as her brother usually was.

That thought brought her back to Joey. She'd have to thank him when he got home. She'd never expected him to be so cool about this whole Kaiba thing, especially when their relationship had first gone beyond mere friendship. She had certainly never expected the sort of armistice they'd formed after the encounter with Vex. Her brother had surprised her, and pleasantly so. Kaiba had surprised her too, but less so. He was the kind of person to be able to suppress his impulses at will.

She felt a squish as she returned to the couch and found a cola-soaked pizza box under the cushion. In that capacity, her brother had not surprised her. The man was simply a slob.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Duke Devlin was on a mission. He and Joey had been discussing the situation with Serenity and neither was pleased. Duke, however, was a good deal smarter than Joey. No large feat, but it led to a distinct difference in the way they intended to handle the situation. Finally, Joey had given up his insistence on a good beating and agreed to let Duke handle it his own way. The black-haired businessman had gotten to know Kaiba fairly well from their limited business interactions, and he figured he'd be able to manipulate Kaiba enough to achieve his goals.

After all, Kaiba may have been a cunning duellist and an expert businessman, but the man was essentially socially inept. Yes, this would be easy. He made his way to the gate of the mansion and buzzed the main house. Realizing who it was, Cecil released the gate. He'd learned to let Duke in whenever he showed up, as he frequently showed up for impromptu meetings when larger deals were going on between the two teen's companies.

Duke reached the main door and let himself in, stopping to ask Cecil where Kaiba was. "In the garden, in the red section. Follow the red markers to find your way there." Cecil answered, busily cleaning the nearby living room.

It took Duke almost half an hour to find Kaiba. When he found the young brunette, he was sitting under a willow tree reading. He glanced up at Duke and nodded, taking the time to finish the section, he closed the book and rose. "What is it, Devlin?" He asked impatiently, eying the path back to his mansion.

"I came to talk to you about Serenity," Duke declared confidently, not taking his gaze off of the billionaire.

"Then you're wasting your time," Kaiba replied, moving to step past Duke.

Duke stepped into Kaiba's way, matching his determined gaze with one of his own. "This is important," he stated forcefully.

Kaiba stared at Duke for a few moments, taking a measure of the black-haired teen. Finally, he raised an eyebrow and asked, "Well?"

"I think you ought to leave her alone." Duke asserted.

"And so ends another excellent conversation with Duke Devlin." Kaiba stated dryly and strode passed Duke, forcing him aside with his superior muscle.

"You're a selfish bastard, you know that?" Duke called after Kaiba.

That caught his attention, and Kaiba turned to face Devlin, "What?"

"Don't you think her life's hard enough without you screwing it up even more?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not screwing up her life-" Kaiba started, but Duke cut him off.

"Maybe not on purpose, but consider this: since she started her relationship with you she has been kidnapped twice by no fault of her own, pursued by someone who hates you, poisoned into a coma… Yeah, word travels fast. I know who hurt her, and I know that it's your fault she got hurt. If he has a vendetta against you, you should keep Serenity out of it." Duke finished emphatically, placing his hands on his hips and glaring at Kaiba.

"I'm not responsible for that." Kaiba replied. He had that on Serenity's authority.

"Who the hell are you kidding?" Duke shot back, "Listen, Serenity's life is hard enough already. She has two terrible parents and a deadbeat brother; you know that as well as I do. Do you think she needs the added trouble of dating a guy that her only close relative hates, who has so many enemies that she's attacked three times in less than a month? If you gave one goddamn about her," he continued, carefully choosing the same words Serenity had said to Kaiba, "you'd realize that the only reasons you have for keeping her around are selfish."

"It's her choice to be around me. I assume that means she knows the risks." The retort sounded lame even as he said it.

"You love her, don't you?" Devlin asked, trying earnestly to sound sincere.

Kaiba didn't say anything for a few moments, and then finally he averted his gaze from Duke's face. "Of course I do."

"Then why the hell would you risk her life over your selfish desires? Do you even know what love is? If you care about her, you have to let her alone because your presence in her life is doing nothing but screwing the hell out of it."

Seto opened his mouth as if to say something, and then shut it again. He could find no reply, but he hated every word of what Devlin had said. He hated it the most because something inside him told him that Duke was right. Serenity had been in very real danger three times in only recent memory. One of those had been because of Joey but the other two had been because of her proximity to the Kaibas.

"I trust you'll do the right thing." Duke stated, finality clear in his tone. Saying that, he strode off into the morass to try and navigate his way to the exit.

Kaiba walked back to the willow and sat against the trunk again. He glanced at the book in his hand. It was a book of Shakespearean love sonnets that Serenity had suggested. It seemed he'd barely started, but now he found that he wouldn't be able to go any deeper into the book. He didn't have the stomach for it. He loved Serenity. She had told him as much, and he wasn't one to argue with her over that. Still, he had this pervasive sick feeling welling in his stomach. Duke was right, and he hated him for it.

Rising to his feet, Kaiba glanced at the book again. He tossed it into the irrigation system and walked back to the mansion.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Serenity was awakened from her nap by a knock on her door. She was lying back on the couch, yet another repeat of something or other playing quietly on the television. Quickly, she rose to her feet and made her way to the door, placing one hand on the bat she had left beside the frame. It was probably Joey, having lost his keys again. She really meant to have a peephole installed. She pressed the door open.

Standing in her doorway was Seto Kaiba, a stern look of determination on his face. "I need to talk to you," he said forcefully.

Serenity nodded and motioned for Kaiba to enter the apartment. She already didn't like where this was going. "What is it, Seto?" she asked quietly.

Kaiba didn't turn to face her. He kept his eyes firmly planted on their couch. He'd already resolved not to tell her the true reason for his decision. Though he had no desire to lie to the girl, he knew she wouldn't accept his reasoning, and he knew that that would only make things more difficult. Eyes still glued to the couch, he finally explained the purpose of his visit, "This has got to end. This is ending. It's over."

Raising an eyebrow, Serenity digested what Kaiba had just said. "What's over?" she asked finally, staring intently at the back of Kaiba's head.

The brunette turned to gauge the girl's response. "This relationship. It's over."

Serenity staggered back, as if she were struck by something. Her eyes began to tear up and her bottom lip began to quiver. "Why?" she rasped, her voice so quiet as to be almost inaudible.

Trying not to be shaken by the show of emotion, Kaiba stuck to his battle plan, "It's too complicated and I don't have time for it in my life. It's better for both of us that I end it before we start hating each other." That was almost true.

Shaking her head, Serenity gave a monosyllabic reply, "No."

Kaiba raised an eyebrow toward the younger Wheeler, "What do you mean, 'no'? I'm not leaving it up to you."

"No." Serenity said again, channelling her sadness into anger, "No, I'm not going to let you throw this relationship away, because I can see you're only doing it because you're terrified of being close to someone. If you won't fight for this relationship, I will."

This was not the reaction Kaiba had been expecting. In a way, her reasoning was right. He was afraid, but for her sake. He was a dangerous man, even to be close to. He had to remind himself that this was for her own good. "There's nothing to fight for, Serenity. I don't want this relationship, so I'm ending it."

"Do you love me?" she asked suddenly.

Kaiba paused. On this, he couldn't lie. But if he told her the truth, it would make the break-up almost impossible. Searching for an answer, he finally settled on dodging the actual question, "I meant what I said when I told you I loved you. I mean what I'm saying now. It's over, Serenity. Goodbye."

Kaiba strode past Serenity through the door. "I'll come by the mansion tomorrow," Serenity called after him.

"I'll tell Cecil not to let you in," Kaiba called back.

"He still will," Serenity warned, then settled back on the couch.

Kaiba stormed down the stairs to the car below. The damn girl was right, of course. Well, it didn't matter. This was one subject on which he refused to bend. He could hear the sound of tears behind him as the door remained slightly ajar. How he hated himself at that moment!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

He glanced at the sabre in his hand. Since he had been separated from his weapon of choice during the whole affair with Kaiba he had been searching for a suitable replacement. This sabre, stolen from an unexpecting shopkeeper presently making the acquaintance of quite a few sewer rats, would serve his cause. He expected Kaiba would be unarmed, unless you counted the steel briefcase he'd have undoubtedly replaced by now. That meant that he'd be vulnerable, and when he went for him he would win. He was confident in that.

But first, to the matter at hand. Mokuba never seemed to leave the mansion unless in a limousine and his noted lack of a rocket propelled grenade launcher kept him from attacking a motorcade. Perhaps if he could find a place in the Domino area that sold an RPG launcher… no. He had to be patient. He could wait; after all, he had all the time in the world. Mokuba would leave on foot, and he would do it sometime in the foreseeable future. When he did, he would end the younger Kaiba's life and this time there would be no chance of failure. He'd spill every single drop of the orphan's blue blood.

Dawn was breaking over the industrial district of Domino and the early morning rays of light streaked through the sky and struck the Kaiba mansion, bathing it in a soft morning glow. Perhaps today would be the day. He allowed his mind to shift into a mere semi-consciousness, still watching the door but barely aware of anything else. Shifting back to look at his past, he couldn't help but think how much potential he had had. Where did he go wrong? He seemed to have done everything he should have… and now, here he was, a walking dead man seeking nothing but vengeance. So be it. If vengeance was all he had, he would take it, and he would savour it. After vengeance… Ra only knew.

A/N: So there you have it. The beginning of the end, so to speak. It's a little bit shorter than the rest of the chapters to date, but I promise that next chapter will be a long one. Or two ones, if it gets that long. If you liked it, please take a few moments to let me know what you liked. If you didn't, _please _take a few moments to let me know what you didn't. Thanks much.


	12. Cataclysm

A/N: And so we hit the climax of the story. There's one more chapter coming after this one, but it's mostly to wind things down and wrap them up. This is the height of the action, right here, and I'm pleased with how it came out. I got a handful of reviews for the last chapter, and from them it looks like I'm doing something right. Very encouraging. You guys rule!

**Disclaimer**: Insert clever comment about how I don't own anything here>

**Chapter Twelve: Cataclysm**

It wasn't that Joey trusted Duke. He didn't trust the man as far as he could throw him, even though he considered him a friend. He particularly didn't trust him in anything involving his sister. The fact of the matter was that he knew that Duke was cunning and that if anyone could've changed the situation it would have been him. That was most likely why he was unsure what he'd come home to when he finally did get back from Duke's shop. What he hadn't expected was what he found.

He found the door slightly ajar and immediately jumped on his guard. Pressing through the doorway, he grabbed the bat that Serenity had left behind the door and glanced about. The place had been trashed. Someone had been here and something terrible had happened. "Ren!" he yelled, squatting in a defensive position. "Ren are you there?"

He heard a voice call from inside Serenity's bedroom. "I'm in here, Joey." Serenity replied, despondency clear in her voice.

Joey burst through the door and scanned the room. It was untouched. Serenity had probably hid in there when whoever had broken in here had come, and locked the door. She was lying on her bed and it was obvious that she'd been crying. "What happened here?" Joey asked, clearly worried.

"Seto… broke up with me." She whispered, sniffling slightly.

Raising an eyebrow, Joey tried to process the implications of that. For one thing, Duke was good. He'd have to keep in mind not to get on that guy's bad side. Then again, he'd been on Duke's bad side. Even Duke was no match for Yugi. But, if that was why she was crying how did the house get into such a state? "And he wrecked the house?" Joey asked bewilderedly.

Serenity screwed up her face and gave Joey a look. "What are you talking about?"

Joey opened the door so Serenity could get a good look at the apartment. The place appeared to have been ransacked, and she must've been so preoccupied in her room that she didn't notice. "The place is trashed, Ren," Joey informed her.

"Joey," Serenity sighed, lying back on her bed, "The place is cleaner than when you left. Still trashed, true, but you're the one that did it."

Taking a quick scan of the apartment again, Joey's face flushed. "Oh… yeah." Joey turned back to regard Serenity. The girl had obviously been crying, and her bed was littered with Cheetos that implied she'd been eating too. Serenity rarely ate in bed, and she almost never ate junk food. It was obvious, even to the dense Joey Wheeler, that she was depressed. "So this Kaiba thing… you're really upset about it?" he asked, sitting on the bed near Serenity.

Serenity just nodded and looked up at her older brother. She'd only half slept through the night, her heart aching the whole time. Joey had spent the night at Duke's, having to wait until almost midnight to find out the result of his meeting with Kaiba because Duke got lost in his garden. Her face showed the result of a miserable night. True, she wasn't going to give up so easily, but it ate at her inside that Kaiba had pushed her away. She thought she had made so much progress.

Joey looked away from his sister. He hadn't wanted to make her miserable. More than that, it was increasingly becoming clear that his motivations had had nothing to do with being worried about Serenity and everything to do with his hate and envy toward Kaiba. "Damnit," he muttered under his breath, and then turned back to his sister. "Ren, there's something I have to tell you."

"Me and Duke… Well, we were worried about what would happen between you and Kaiba… since all of the stuff that's been happening…" Joey exhaled sharply. He couldn't lie to his sister, "That's not true. Me and Duke were jealous of all the time you were spending with Kaiba, so we decided to break the two of you up. Duke told me that he convinced Kaiba that being with him was risking your life. He convinced Kaiba to break up with you in order to protect you, and that's why he did it." Serenity looked stricken, and Joey found he couldn't match her gaze. Doing the right thing sucked.

"So… that's why… Joey, how could you? You were being so nice, getting along with Seto even though you liked him! You couldn't just trust me to make my own decisions?" Serenity asked, sitting up on her bed, crushing some Cheetos as the bed shifted underneath her.

"I know. I was jealous, and it was a stupid thing to do. Look, just… go talk to him. Maybe it's not too late to change things."

Serenity nodded and kissed her brother on the cheek. "Thanks for coming clean with me, Joey," she said, smiling slightly. With that, she got up to go find Kaiba.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sitting in his familiar office chair, Kaiba stared out the window. The sun had risen about an hour ago, which meant that Kaiba had been evaluating and re-evaluating his plan for over three hours now, and he still wasn't happy with it. Mokuba said that it wasn't a problem, that he believed the plan would work, but he still couldn't condone the necessary cost. He would not put Mokuba at risk.

"It'll be fine, Seto. I'll be okay, I'm sure of it." Mokuba assured him from his seat on the couch. "By not doing anything about him you're putting me in more danger than the plan would," he added.

"He's watching the house. Or, he has someone watching the house. Whatever the case, the bodyguards are sweeping the area around the mansion. They'll find him or his man and we'll chase that lead," Kaiba replied, not believing the words himself.

"Come on, Seto," Mokuba scolded, "He won't be found unless he wants to be. Your plan makes sense. Have a backbone!"

Kaiba spun on Mokuba and looked as though he were going to bite the kid's head off. A moment later, he relaxed and turned back to the window. Mokuba was right, but he still didn't like it. He would willingly put himself at risk at the drop of a hat but he was loath to put his brother in harm's way, no matter the reason. Sighing heavily, he continued to stare out the window. If he'd looked just a little higher and to the left, he might have been able to make out the vigilant form of his antagonist, neatly tucked away where his bodyguards would never think to look.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

His eyes lit up as his prey came into sight. Mokuba walked to the gate of the mansion and released the lock from the inside. Slipping out the gate, Mokuba turned to head in the direction of the theatre he and his few friends frequented. Sliding out from behind the KC logo of the building opposite the mansion, he slinked down to the ground level and skulked carefully after Mokuba.

Trying to remain as silent as possible, he found his speed impaired by the need for stealth. He gained on Mokuba slowly, and knew that within three blocks he'd have caught up with the little bastard. He could bide his time till then. He'd have his satisfaction shortly. The younger Kaiba rounded a corner, turning onto a major street and his hunter followed. The moments passed like hours to the stalker, the adrenaline of the inevitable kill pumping through his veins as he followed his intended victim, licking his lips at the thought.

Mokuba turned again, this time onto a one-way side street that boasted very little traffic. Perfect for the kill, the stalker thought. He turned the corner again and saw Mokuba take something from his pocket. It appeared to be a pack of cigarettes. So the little Kaiba was seeking some privacy from the older to hide his filthy habit. Foolish child, didn't he know smoking could kill him? He saw Mokuba turn again into what appeared to be a dead end alley, probably his final destination. Eagerly, the hunter turned the same corner and darted into the alleyway.

To find nothing. No Mokuba, just an empty alleyway ending in a dead end brick wall. Suddenly, he heard the sound of steel being drawn from a scabbard behind him. He'd been tricked! Furiously, he grabbed his own sabre from his back and turned to face the elder Kaiba.

"I knew it was Vex who'd attacked Serenity from the moment it happened. After all, it was Serenity who'd delivered the final blow to him. And I didn't believe the story that Vex gave up and died either, further reinforcing my theory." Kaiba stated flatly.

The stalker grinned evilly, "You must think yourself very clever Mr. Kaiba."

"But while Serenity was in that coma you provided her with I realized that Vex didn't know that Serenity had delivered the final hit. How could he, he'd been unconscious from the second she hit him. And poison always was your style, Doctor Watanabe. Serenity wasn't telling me anything new when she told me it was you."

Watanabe glared at Kaiba. So Serenity had woken, and probably left the mansion without his knowing. Watanabe simmered with rage. Kaiba had destroyed him. His body was a mass of burns, the entire form overwhelmed in one massive scar. His face looked as though a wild dog had taken a bite out of it, so deformed was it from the fire. Atop his head only three or four patches of jet-black hair remained, the flames had consumed the rest. The doctor glanced at the mediocre blade in his hand and then to the expertly crafted sabre in Kaiba's. "My good sword is still at home," he complained, "I had to leave it there when my allies came for your brother and I."

Kaiba nodded grimly, "I owe you for that."

Eyes burning, Watanabe screamed at Kaiba, "Look at me! Haven't you done enough?"

"Haven't you?" Kaiba shot back without missing a beat. "Conspiring to kill me? Poisoning Serenity? Why? Money? I would have given it to you if you'd asked! You were like family to me!"

"I lived too long on your charity! I could've had a future if I hadn't wasted my life following the every edict of a teenaged narcissist!" Watanabe yelled back, fury coursing through his veins.

Kaiba planted his left foot, perpendicular to his leading toe-forward right foot. Placing his left hand behind his back, he pointed the blade at Watanabe, tip held high. "Enough. I could never forgive you anyway."

Watanabe struck a similar pose, his own sabre levelled with his eyes, pointing toward the boy he'd been employed to for so long. "I taught you everything you know about fencing. I can predict every move you'll make," he boasted, eyes flaring with hate.

"I'll improvise," Kaiba replied, his own eyes burning with fiery determination. It had been hard to kill the man who'd been an uncle to him the first time. The man standing before him was nothing but a spectre, a mere shadow, of that man. He wouldn't hesitate. He would kill if he had to.

Watanabe rushed at Kaiba, slashing his blade left, then bringing it back across and swinging right. Kaiba easily parried both blows, and then responded with a lunge that Watanabe easily knocked aside. Seeing an opening, Watanabe swung the blade high. Kaiba ducked, reversing the blade and bringing it back at Watanabe's shins. It was an attack Watanabe easily backed out of range of, but it allowed him the time to rise and ready his blade again. He knew that in order to beat his fencing mentor he'd have to avoid disadvantages like being forced low.

Satisfied that Kaiba had made no major advancements since their old sparring matches, Watanabe had to admit that Kaiba was no mean foe. Resetting his stance, Watanabe gauged the terrain. Kaiba had lured him to this spot on purpose: he wanted an even fight. The alley wasn't wide enough for two people to walk side by side, and it was perfectly level and straight. He'd find that he couldn't get past Kaiba, nor could he flee. Clearly, he was locked into the fight. He wouldn't have it any other way.

It was the doctor who charged again, swinging the blade in a downward arc. Kaiba dodged backward instead of parrying, seizing the opening to lunge at Watanabe's chest. The spectre had expected the move, though, and quickly reversed the momentum on his sword, forcing the blade upward and exposing Kaiba's chest. Seizing the moment, he made a forceful lunge for the killing blow. Realizing his mistake, Kaiba threw himself into a backward roll, using his momentum to bring himself to his feet out of range of the blow.

Surprised by the unconventional dodge, Watanabe found himself overbalanced. Kaiba came in high, swatting the blade down with his own. Watanabe lurched forward from the force, realizing it was either that or drop his weapon. With a rare opening clear in sight, Kaiba drove his knee into Watanabe's face. The doctor staggered back from the blow but managed to extricate his sword from the lock. Hoping to take advantage of the daze his teacher was undoubtedly in, Kaiba pursued. He brought his blade in an arcing slash from his right, but Watanabe had enough sense to manage the parry. The blades shot sparks as they hit, but Watanabe's block wasn't enough to fully stop the momentum. Kaiba scored a slight hit on Watanabe's shoulder, drawing some blood from the cut.

Watanabe was far from out, however, and with his blade outward Kaiba's defences were not as solid as he would have liked. The doctor came in fast and hard, his blade working furiously to keep Kaiba's out. Every hit drove it a little further away from his chest. Kaiba knew what was coming next. Watanabe lunged for Kaiba's left shoulder. The CEO knew that the block was impossible, so he dropped to a knee to dodge. The blade came in too low, though, and cut the top of his shoulder much deeper than he'd hit Watanabe. Still, Kaiba was always one to turn a disadvantage into an opportunity. Quickly, he kicked off the ground and drove the top of his head into his former employee's jaw.

Staggering back from the blow, Watanabe let his blade's tip fall, usually a fatal mistake. Kaiba saw it and lunged hard, his aim true. It was a feint, though, and Watanabe rolled his body out of the way of the attack. Overbalanced, Kaiba knew that he had critically miscalculated. Watanabe would come in fast, and he'd come in from above. He had only one chance. Since he was already overbalanced forward and Watanabe had been kind enough to turn out of his way, Kaiba threw himself recklessly into a forward roll. Fortunately, Watanabe had already launched the attack. The blade struck just behind Kaiba, who had already found his feet. Leaping forward, Kaiba kicked off the wall and leapt toward Watanabe, sabre at the ready. The doctor pulled his blade up and readied it to accept Kaiba's leap, which was exactly the move the brunette had been hoping for.

Swatting aside Watanabe's blade with his own, Kaiba's knee struck first, catching Watanabe on the shoulder and driving him against the wall. Landing gracefully, Kaiba drove his sabre straight for Watanabe's heart. The old man wouldn't give up that easily, though. He dropped his legs out from underneath himself and fell beneath the streaking blade. Kaiba was too close for the blade, but Watanabe drove a shoulder into his knees as he threw himself away from the tangle.

Kaiba lurched slightly from the blow, then drew his blade from the wall. Their positions had been reversed in the exchange, and now Watanabe was blocking Kaiba from the exit. Kaiba had no intention of running, but he didn't want Watanabe to run either. The CEO's left shoulder was bleeding fairly badly, but it was his free hand anyway. Watanabe was tiring faster, and they both knew it. Kaiba would win. He let his free hand slide down to the Millennium Rod, tucked securely into the back of his pants.

Watanabe knew that, at his age, he couldn't keep up with the youthful Kaiba. Fortunately, he was prepared. Grinning broadly, he pulled a gun from his belt and pointed the pistol at Kaiba. Shock played across Kaiba's face and he took a few steps backward. "Coward," he muttered, glaring at the doctor.

"I can live with that," Watanabe replied and fired the pistol three times.

Kaiba was hardly aware of his own actions. Instinctively he dived backward, underneath the streaks of the bullets just as Watanabe fired. Landing on his back, he was prone as Watanabe pointed the pistol downward and fired again. This time, he wasn't aware of his actions at all. He pulled his legs upward and threw himself backward again, rolling out of the way of the rounds. Watanabe followed the roll though. He'd fired off six rounds; he had two left. Kaiba'd found his feet again, but he didn't know which way Watanabe was going to go next. There was no way he could dodge the next shot.

He pulled back on the trigger, and Kaiba snapped into action. Impulsively, the sabre streaked forward and up, and a moment later a shower of sparks sprayed over him. Finally realizing what he'd done, he stared at the sabre in front of him. There was a large dent in the middle of the blade, and the bullet lay steaming at his feet. Horror consumed Watanabe's face, and he staggered back. Kaiba simply stared at the blade in awe. The doctor pulled the trigger again, but the gun jammed. Dropping it to the ground, he turned and ran.

Seto was not just going to let him go, though. Taking his sabre firmly in hand, he threw it at the fleeing man. Streaking through the air, it drove through Watanabe's back and the doctor collapsed to the ground. Kaiba exhaled a tense breath, and then walked for the exit of the alleyway. If it hadn't been covered by his white trench coat, he may have noticed the gold glow fade from the rod.

Reaching the mouth of the alleyway, Kaiba gave a sigh. Mokuba would be home safe by now. Vex and Watanabe were confirmed dead. He had won. Yet it was a hollow victory. It had cost him too much: a dear friend… even the only girl he'd ever loved. It was a victory, true, but he didn't feel like celebrating.

The thought had barely formed in his mind when he felt a sharp searing pain surge through his back. He didn't bother to check what it was, though. The foot or more of steel protruding from the middle of his chest gave him a fairly good idea as to that. He heard Watanabe fall behind him. It had been the traitor's final act of revenge. Blood ran freely down the blade, dripping off the end of the wicked weapon. He hoped nothing vital had been pierced. Slim chance of that. He hoped that he could make it home.

A few steps later, as he fell to his knees, he realized that that wasn't likely either. He hoped that someone would find him before he bled to death. This road wasn't frequented by anyone, though. He had chosen it for that reason. Now it seemed like that would be his epitaph. _Here lies Seto Kaiba: He picked the wrong damn alley_. It made matters worse that he'd told Mokuba not to send anyone to look for him until the next day. He had intended to fight to the death, and knew that if he didn't come back under his own power he wasn't coming back at all. He made sure to fall on his side as the last of his strength failed him. It would be foolish to further agitate the blade. He hoped that someone would explain to Serenity why he had ended it with her. The girl deserved to know.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Serenity was on her way to see Kaiba, but she still didn't know what she'd say. She'd found herself meandering, her mind scanning over her thoughts, trying to come up with a speech to move the impassive man. At some level, Kaiba had been right in the reason that he'd broken up with her. The only thing he'd failed to take into consideration was how she felt. The fact was that she'd come to terms with the risks of dating Seto Kaiba. She'd decided that it was well worth the cost.

Perhaps that's what she'd tell Kaiba, but she doubted he'd accept that. No, Kaiba would want to protect her even from herself, from her own desires. Kaiba would push her away despite the fact that she _knew _he loved her because he wouldn't be able to bear the guilt if anything happened to her. Well, he'd have to swallow his fear. Love was a fearful, unpredictable thing. It was the best of things, and she knew that it was worth fighting for. Pausing to get her bearings, Serenity turned to walk to the Kaiba mansion.

She had accidentally made her way to a fairly busy street, and she nearly choked on the exhaust of the passing cars. Up ahead, she could see a homeless person who seemed to be sleeping under a blanket on the sidewalk of one of the off roads. No, not a blanket, a trench coat, not unlike Kaiba's. A moment later, she realized that the man was lying in a pool of blood. Calling for help, Serenity rushed to the man's side. It was Kaiba! A long sabre ran through the centre of his chest and she could see Watanabe lying in a nearby alley. So, Watanabe had finally found Seto, and Seto was the worse for it. He was breathing, but it was shallow and laboured. Serenity picked up the CEO to bring him back to his mansion. Or tried to. Kaiba was almost six and a half feet tall, and Serenity was less than five and a half. There was no way she'd be able to move him.

"Seto! Seto, wake up!" she cried, hunched over his unmoving body.

Desperate, Serenity raced to the mansion to get help. It took her a few minutes, but she reached the gate, gasping for breath. She pressed the button in to page the house. Finally, a voice came from the speaker. "I'm sorry, Miss Serenity," Cecil apologized from inside the house, "But Master Kaiba specifically told me not to let you in. Normally, that wouldn't stop me but he's also out at the moment."

"I know, Cecil," Serenity explained hurriedly, "He's been stabbed badly. Get Doctor Kitsune, he needs immediate medical attention."

In less than twenty seconds Tai and Mokuba were at the gate with medical supplies. Minutes later, they were ate Kaiba's side.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"He's still the luckiest damn man I've ever met." Tai explained as he left the ER in the Kaiba mansion. "An inch to either side and it would've been lethal. If we hadn't found him when we did, he'd probably have bled to death. As it stands, he'll be down for a few days but he'll make a full recovery. Jeez, and I was worried taking this job would mean I'd be doing very little work. Boy, but do you guys keep busy," he joked, looking down to where Serenity and Mokuba sat.

Serenity forced a smile, though she was in no mood for humour. Mokuba was a bit more receptive. He'd been confident in his brother's recovery since they'd brought him in. Watanabe had been dead when they arrived, and no small wonder. While the blade in Kaiba had pierced nothing vital, the blade in Watanabe had punctured both lungs. It was an end, at last, to the confrontation with the Ghouls. Hard to believe that all that had happened had occurred in only a few weeks.

"May I see him?" Serenity piped up, looking up at Kitsune.

"Sure," he replied, "You'll have to take the sheet off his face."

Mokuba raised an eyebrow at the doctor, so Tai explained, "He should be coming to any time now. I thought it would be funny if he thought we thought he was dead. At least, it would be funny for me." He seemed somewhat sheepish about the whole thing.

This time, Serenity did chuckle. She could picture the look on Kaiba's face when he awoke to find himself covered in a sheet like he'd passed away. Rising, she and Mokuba entered the room where Kaiba lay. His face seemed the usual, stoic expression he always wore, almost as though he were just taking a nap. Attached to his arm were two IV's, more blood and painkillers to allow him to sleep. He was hooked up to a heart monitor, but aside from that he was entirely normal. Serenity sat down on the chair beside him and Mokuba stood in the doorway.

"He was worried about me, thought that I might get hurt trying to bait Watanabe into the alleyway. Apparently, he should've been worrying more about himself," Mokuba stated, smiling at his older brother. His words had been somewhat harsh, but Serenity knew that he only voiced them out of concern.

"So it's over then? The threat has passed?" Serenity asked.

"Looks like." Mokuba replied, running a hand through his hair, "Seto took quite a bit of a beating though, over the course of this whole affair. This is the third time he's been bedridden."

"I was pretty shocked the first time I saw him like this. Although, I guess that one was worse. All those sword wounds… But I guess I'm getting used to it. Getting used to the idea that not even Kaiba is invincible."

"Sure he is," Mokuba stated, grinning, "You think any normal person could have survived what he has?"

Serenity chuckled, and Mokuba turned for the door. "I'm going to go grab some food, can I get you anything?" he asked.

"No, thanks." Serenity replied, and turned to watch Kaiba.

Mokuba left, and Serenity sat in silence. She took one of Kaiba's hands in her own and gently stroked it, watching the man she'd come to care so much about.

"Serenity…" she heard him say, and his eyes opened slightly.

"Seto! You're awake!" She cried happily, squeezing his hand in her own.

"Thank you… for calling me," he whispered, his eyes not leaving hers.

Serenity smiled, "From the depths of hell," she replied.

"Thank you… for saving me," he whispered again.

"You didn't need saving," Serenity answered with a smirk, "You? You're untouchable."

Kaiba turned his gaze to the IV's and gave a quizzical look to the one with clear fluid in it. Serenity caught the glance and explained. "Morphine."

Nodding, Kaiba pulled the IV from his arm and went back to sleep.

A/N: That should lie to rest the bulk of the tension. There's still the issue of Kaiba's upcoming court case, and a handful more of loose ends that I have to tie up. I purposely added in a few hints about the antagonist to make it look like Vex because Tawnykit guessed correctly right from the get-go. Bad Tawnykit! Anyway, as always I encourage you to let me know what you did and didn't like. I love getting reviews.


	13. Denouement

A/N: Well well, here it is. My subconscious was pretty well set against me finishing this fic. I can tell because this chapter took me more than twice as long of actual writing as any other chapter. It was the hardest piece of writing I've ever done and I'm not entirely happy with it even after tons of tweaking. One thing you should be aware of, I don't know much of anything about the legal system in Canada, my country of residence. I know more about the legal system of the US, but that's just from watching Law & Order. I know nothing about the Japanese legal system. Thus, my courtroom scenes will be quite inaccurate. I do, however, realize that a trial takes more than a day. But it's my fic, and so I condensed it. So nyeh.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! That's my plot twist for this chapter.

**Chapter Thirteen: Denouement**

It was a sight that Mokuba relished. He'd invited the gang to the mansion for a celebration, to celebrate Kaiba's recovery and the end of the affair with the Ghouls. The celebration, to which the elder Kaiba had been notably absent, had gone long and the younger had invited his guests to stay the evening. That was what had lead to the gang being collected in the familiar kitchen, gathered around Joey in the midst of another story. The story in particular was his encounter with the Ghouls in a back alley, and the first time he met who he had later learned was the leader of the Ghouls.

"So I climb up this fire escape to get away from the two dozen Ghouls that had ganged up on me," he related, climbing atop the counter to illustrate his point, "And I get to the roof and there's this big guy there, like, almost twice as tall as me and like, this wide," he continued, drawing his arms out as far as they would go to either side. Tristan and Duke were making fun of him even as he told the story, knowing Joey's penchant for exaggeration. Everyone else watched intently. That was why Joey was the first to notice when Kaiba made his appearance.

Kaiba stepped into his kitchen and took a look at the spectacle. The nerd brigade was still here, it seemed. "Oh, hell…" Kaiba groaned, and stormed into the kitchen. Every eye turned on him; even Joey froze in his position, towering hunched over the rest of his friends. Kaiba swung open the door to his fridge and poured himself a glass of lemonade, setting it on a counter separate from the rest of the gang. Grabbing a plastic packet from the freezer, he opened it and dumped the contents into his microwave. He moved to the espresso machine and declared, "Pizza pops, two," causing the microwave to spring to life. Taking his first hit of espresso for the day, he continued to his seat and sipped his lemonade. Finally, he looked up at the gang, still staring at him.

His gaze fell to Serenity. The girl had saved him the previous day, but he remained firm on his decision to end their relationship. Still, he did care for her. That was why he had avoided the party. He knew that if anyone could, the girl could break his resolve. Cooking up a particularly vicious quip to aim at the mutt on his countertop, he suddenly noticed the look she was giving him. It seemed an imploration to be amicable. Sighing, he turned his gaze back to Joey. "Well?" he asked flatly, and the entire group relaxed. Joey continued his story, but Kaiba wasn't really aware of it. He stared into his espresso, or when he could, stole a glance at Serenity. He missed the girl.

A tone from the microwave let him know that his breakfast was ready. Taking his beverages in hand, he decided he'd rather eat in on the veranda. Silently, he left the room. The party, no worse for the loss, continued behind him.

He stood silently for some time, eating his usual breakfast. Watanabe had often lectured him about nutrition. Tai, by contrast, ate twice as many of the incredibly unhealthy pizza pops each morning and had taken more than a liking to the espresso machine. Chewing thoughtfully on one bit, he felt a hand softly tap his shoulder. He turned to regard Serenity Wheeler, a tenuous expression on her face.

He stared at her for some time, before finally exhaling sharply. "What is it?" he asked impatiently.

"I think you know what I want to talk to you about," Serenity replied, moving to stand beside the CEO.

"And I think you know what I have to say," Kaiba shot back, nearly hissing the words as her turned away from her.

"You don't know as much as you think you do." Serenity replied coolly, "Duke came to talk to you with the purpose in mind of breaking the two of us apart. He and Joey worked together to do it, because they were jealous of how much time we were spending together," she explained, all the time watching him for a reaction.

"So you know the reason why I did it. That's good, you had a right to know that much. However, whatever Devlin's motivations were in coming to talk to me that day, the points he made were solid. I'm a powerful man, and not a particularly congenial one. I have many enemies and many of them are militant. Battle City should have taught you that much. I will not put you in that risk. It's bad enough that Mokuba has to be exposed to that," he explained, his voice cold and impassive.

"What right do you have to tell me what risks I can take? The truth is that you're not scared for me, or at least, that's not why you're doing this. You're scared _of _me, scared of holding yourself responsible for anything that happens to me. Well, suck it up, princess, because whether you like it or not I love you and I'm sure as hell not going to let you push me away because you're scared and want your teddy bear!" She yelled, having built in volume since the beginning of her tirade.

Kaiba turned back to the girl, anger clear on his face. Seto Kaiba was not used to being talked to that way by anybody. Looking as though he was about to explode, he opened his mouth to speak. "It's a Blue-Eyes plushie, actually," was all he said. Gently, he slid one arm onto Serenity's back. "Why can't I stay mad at you?" he asked, smiling.

"Oh, you know." Serenity replied coyly.

The brunette pulled the small girl in for a kiss.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It seemed like an endless sea of people spreading out in every direction. Kaiba had been to premiers and galas and other such social functions in which he'd seen reporters grouped like gazelles, but nothing like this before. It seemed that there was nothing like a trial to bring even the worst newspapers and magazines out of the woodworks. After all, Kaiba had given the tabloids nothing for years and now he was the defendant in the largest murder trial in Domino history. He turned to the other person in the limousine with him, a prim woman he'd hired as his attorney.

"I'll do my best, Mr. Kaiba." She explained, sorting papers in her lap, "What we need is some kind of gesture, or some speech that will stick out in the mind of the jury to turn their opinion."

"I could try to put on a glove that's too small," Kaiba offered.

"That is not funny, Mr. Kaiba." The lawyer replied coldly. Kaiba loved riling the excitable woman.

"Are you sure? I was pretty sure that was funny." Kaiba explained, raising an eyebrow.

"You seem pretty calm for someone who stands to go to prison until he fossilizes." The woman shot back, turning away from Kaiba.

"The only reason this is going to trial is that the district attorney hates me. It's a simple matter to prove that the Ghouls presented a clear and imminent threat to my safety, and the safety of my family, and that I had little to no other choice than to kill them in self defence. Assuming that you don't critically screw up, it should be an open and shut case." Kaiba replied matter-of-factly. The woman was uptight and somewhat irritating, but she was a skilled trial lawyer.

"Normally that would be true, but the fact that you brought explosives from home belies premeditation, and premeditation denies self defence because it isn't in the heat of the moment." She answered, still looking away.

She was pouting. This woman, arguably the best defence lawyer in Japan, was pouting. Kaiba rolled his eyes, "Would you like me to buy the jury, because for you I will," he offered sarcastically.

"Mr. Kaiba," the woman replied, "I hope you realize the seriousness of your situation."

"True," Kaiba admitted, opening the door to his limo as it pulled up in front of the crowded courthouse, "If I'm convicted I'll have to move. I hear New Zealand is nice."

As soon as he left the limo reporters immediately mobbed him. Racing up the stairs, he kept his eyes on the door until one reporter called out a question that caught his attention, "Mr. Kaiba, do you believe what you did was wrong?"

Kaiba turned in an instant and stared directly at the reporter. He was holding out a microphone to Kaiba, and the cameraman behind him quickly moved into position. Kaiba's eyes simmered with anger, and he spoke directly into the camera. "Sixteen people are dead by my hands. I'm going to have to live with that, but if I hadn't done what I did those men would've killed myself, my brother and a handful of other victims. It's wrong to take the life of another, so yes, on some level what I did was wrong. Despite that, any brother, father or husband in my position would have done exactly the same thing." Having answered the question, he stormed into the courthouse.

While reporters and members of the media were allowed into the courtroom, no recording devices of any kind were allowed in. Kaiba took a seat at the table allotted him and waited for his attorney to join him. Across the aisle from where he sat was the district attorney, a particularly vindictive man who had come to hate Kaiba earlier when Kaiba had been convicted of trying to infringe on freedom of the press and fined one hundred million dollars. Kaiba had purchased ten percent of every news corporation in Domino and threatened to sell if they gave him bad press, causing their stock prices to plummet. He had abandoned the plan after his first defeat to Yugi, but when it went public the DA had pressed charges. Since then, the prick of a sixty year old had viewed Kaiba as a rich playboy with no respect for the law and had hounded him at every turn. His name was Kariudo Tenchi, and he would be the prosecutor in the case.

Finally, his attorney made it through the mob outside and found her seat. The woman, a Mrs. Tetsurugi, was considered the best defence lawyer in Japan. Uptight and condescending, Kaiba made a habit of irritating the woman. Nevertheless, he respected her legal skills and talents and knew that she'd fight her hardest to win the trial.

They all rose as the judge entered. This was where Kaiba had lucked out most. The judge was a benevolent fifty-five year old and a grandfather, which made him likely to empathize with Kaiba. The jury, however, was less to his favour. Despite the notable skill of his attorney, jury selection had gone badly. Only five of the twelve jurors were parents, three of the jurors hadn't even had siblings. More than that, they were all middle or lower class citizens, certainly not likely to empathize with Kaiba given their social and economic status.

Still, as he sat, Kaiba was confident. Some part of him maintained a firm hope in their judiciary system and he believed the trial would vindicate him. If not, he would break out of prison and flee the country. It was as simple as that. The prosecutor rose to make his opening statement.

"All people are equal before the law," he started, walking to the fore of the jury box, "This is a fact that those in the higher parts of our society often choose to disregard. The defence is going to tell you a sad story of kidnapping and assault, and it will, for the most part, be true. They will try and tell you that the people the defendant killed he killed in self-defence, because he had no other choice. However, self-defence is only a defence when it is done in the heat of the moment. No, on the day in question, Mr. Kaiba planned out his attack on his enemies, rigging a briefcase, by his own admission, with remote plastic explosives and using it to kill sixteen men. This was not done in the heat of the moment; it was a cold, calculated, and premeditated crime. And thus you must return a verdict of guilty, no matter the motivations for the crime." With that, Tenchi sat down.

Next, Kaiba's lawyer rose. "Self-defence is not a crime. It is a right that every person has: the right to defend his or her own life. That's not in question. What is in question is whether or not what Mr. Kaiba did qualified. Over the duration of this court case, I intend to make it clear that Mr. Kaiba was suffering from a pattern of repeated attacks from a clearly identified source, and that he was aware that his life was at risk as long as the group remained…" She continued on with her speech, but Kaiba was barely listening. He understood, and approved of, her plan of attack.

So he tuned her out and scanned the collected group behind him. Reporters composed the back and sides of the courtroom, standing room only. The prosecutor's side held some remaining members of the now disbanded Ghouls; he recognized them from his encounter at Joey's warehouse. It also held several families, probably families of those that had died in the explosion. It was hard to believe, but considering some of the Ghouls had still been in their teens it was conceivable some were still living with their parents. How did a parent miss that? Kaiba certainly knew Mokuba would never be able to pull something like that off without him noticing. On his own side, Kaiba noticed his own supporters and groaned inwardly. It seemed like the nerd brigade had brought all of their friends to support him, from Professor Hawkins to Mai Valentine. He hadn't seen Valentine throughout the entire affair, he realized, though he understood she'd been in the hospital when he'd left Serenity there to visit Joey. Some of his employees were there too, executives that had a closer relationship with Kaiba than the average employees or those jockeying for position. In the very back, he noticed that about a dozen members of his staff had shown up. Even Cecil, who very rarely left the mansion, was there.

He became vaguely aware that his lawyer had finished her statement and snapped back to attention as the prosecutor stood to call his first witness. "The prosecution calls Seto Kaiba to the stand," Kariudo declared, and Seto rose, taking the stand. After swearing to tell the truth he sat down in the chair and looked at the DA disinterestedly.

"Mr. Kaiba," he started, "The day of the incident, can you tell us about the call your received in your home?"

Kaiba nodded. Kariudo was going to systematically confirm everything he'd said in his earlier statement. He walked through the questions confirming what had occurred on the call, detailing Vex's demands.

The attorney nodded, then continued, "What did the police say when you called them?"

"I didn't." Kaiba replied flatly.

"And why was that?" Kariudo led.

"The men told me to come alone. I wasn't going to risk my brother, because I understood that the force the police would dispatch would most likely not match the force of Ghouls. Moreover, it would likely put the police in harm's way, and I didn't feel that risk was necessary," Kaiba replied calmly. He knew Kariudo Tenchi's style. The man would try to ruffle him, try to get him to say something that would betray himself. Kaiba was too cold for that; he wouldn't allow himself to get angry.

"So did you bring the shares of your company as they requested? Surely if your concern was your brother you would have wanted to comply with their demands," Tenchi sneered as he continued, "Did you bring what they wanted?"

"No. Not because I wasn't willing to give up my company, but because I knew they had no intention of sparing either of us," Kaiba answered evenly.

"What makes you say that?"

"They used one of my employees to get to Mokuba. That employee, I was aware, was in Mokuba's will for half of his financial estate. Mokuba, in turn, was in mine for a billion dollars cash. Therefore, in the event of both of our deaths my billion would default to Mokuba and half of that would go to him. He only made money in the event of both of our deaths. Since he was involved, I determined that was the plan." Again, Kaiba's tone was cool and level, his emotions perfectly in check despite the ire that the DA arose in Kaiba.

Kariudo nodded, pacing slightly in front of the witnesses box. He was forming a plan of attack again, trying to get Kaiba to reveal the hatred he knew that he harboured toward the Ghouls. Seto had been correct in saying that it should have been an open and shut case, however if Kariudo could make it look like revenge instead of self-defence he could finally put Kaiba away. "I take it you bore some ill will toward this employee, the one that helped kidnap your brother."

"Of course. I did not, however, expect him to be at the warehouse. He wasn't a particularly courageous man. In any case, he didn't die in the explosion. He died a few days ago after assaulting my brother. It was self-defence. Like this case." Kaiba turned to stare at a particularly interesting floor tile. He hated Kariudo, oh how he hated him, but he had to reign in his emotions to win the case.

"I see. Why did you choose to bring plastic explosives to the warehouse? It says here in your earlier statement to the police that at the second warehouse you used a gas grenade instead, to equally effective results." Make it look vicious, make it look intentionally harmful.

"First off, because we had an advantage there in that I was to enter from the outside once the gas grenade had been activated, allowing me a distinct advantage and secondly because as I owned the warehouse I could legally demolish it. Moreover, if I was to rescue Serenity… that is, the captive at the second warehouse, I could not be pursued. Again that wasn't an issue at the second warehouse because the more simple design allowed us to bar off the only exit," the CEO explained.

"Sounds like you had it planned out pretty well," Tenchi drawled, the implications clear in the way he said it.

"I was in the midst of an urban war with the Ghouls. They'd harassed me at every turn and kidnapped my brother and Serenity once already before. I intended to do what I had to in order to protect myself and my brother from them once and for all. That's why I brought the explosives. To end the ongoing battle," Kaiba stressed ongoing. He knew that in order to vindicate himself he had to make it clear that is was an unending struggle and not separate incidences.

"That's all." Kariudo smirked and sat down. He'd accomplished his goal in calling Kaiba.

"Mr. Kaiba," his attorney called, standing for her cross-examination, "Had you ever killed anyone before this incident?"

"No," Kaiba responded somewhat sharply, "My stepfather ran an arms company and I came to loathe the killing. I turned it into a gaming company instead."

"Describe your previous encounters with the Ghouls."

"The first encounter in this series of events was when four armed men attacked me outside my house," he made sure to say house, not mansion. He'd been told to play down his wealth. "I incapacitated them and was severely injured in the process. The second encounter they kidnapped my brother and his sitter, the girl I already mentioned, Serenity. I saved Serenity from an ambush they'd lain for her brother, incapacitating a sniper they'd placed in the process. The third encounter was when I broke into what we deduced was their stronghold in order to save my brother. I had thought that that encounter would put an end to the… war going on between us but their leader escaped the police that I called."

"So would you say that it was a consistent stream of attacks?"

"Yes."

"Would you say that you felt a consistent threat?"

"Of course. They were after blood, they told Joey Wheeler," he had to force himself not to say 'the mutt', "as much."

"That's all," she said, sitting.

"Redirect?" The DA asked, addressing the judge. He nodded.

"Mr. Kaiba where did you get the plastic explosives from?" Tenchi asked, sneering vilely.

"My stepfather kept a room full of weapons in the house in which I live," Kaiba responded, already knowing where this line was going.

"If you hate killing and weapons as much as you say, why didn't you clean out that room?" He continued.

"I knew that Kaiba Corp, and I myself, has and will continue to have enemies. I knew that some of those enemies, as experience has taught me, use weapons to accomplish their goals. I kept the weapons around because I knew they may become necessary to fight off those enemies."

"And the Ghouls presented such an opportunity?"

"Such a _need_, yes," Kaiba replied.

"Isn't it possible that you're more like your stepfather than you care to admit and that you kept those weapons because you _wanted _to use them-"

"Save it!" Kaiba hissed venomously. From that moment he was in contempt of court but no one, not even the judge, said anything. "I did what I had to and nothing more. If all you want is to incarcerate me by all means, go ahead. Both of those two," he said, gesturing to Mokuba and Serenity in the front row of his section, "are worth ten of me, so I won't regret a moment of it. But don't for a second think that I did any of this out of hate, revenge, spite or sadism. I did it because I care about those two and not even your damn heavy-handed law is going to do anything to stop me from saving those I care about. Now, are you quite done Kariudo? Because I don't have to listen to anymore of this shit."

For a few moments, no one said anything. A man as powerful and influential as Kariudo Tenchi was not used to being spoken to that way. Finally, Kariudo mustered a rather sheepish sounding, "The witness is excused."

They broke for a ten-minute recess after that, and Kaiba sat quietly at his desk. He had broken under the incessant questions from that worm of a man, but it seemed to have done him as much good as bad. Snapping him out of his trance, Serenity tapped him on the shoulder. "Nice outburst," she commented, grinning slightly.

Kaiba shrugged and glanced at the empty jury stand, the jurors having been taken into a separate room. "I should have had more control over my emotions. It was a mistake."

Serenity kissed Kaiba on the cheek and smiled. "You're doing fine, Seto. You'll be all right. You're in the right here. Don't let that ass make you forget it."

"You're on in five," he noted, looking at the order of prosecution witnesses. "He's going to try and use you to establish that I had a personal vendetta against the Ghouls. He'll probably bring up the first time you were captured and my reactions therein. Just stick to the truth, don't let him bully you and you'll be fine."

Nodding slightly, Serenity glanced over Kaiba's shoulder at the list. "A shrink? What, they're having an expert witness on your psychological state? Do we even have time for that?"

"Ha ha," Kaiba commented sarcastically, "He's here to attest to my psychological state at the moment of the crime, saying I was 'cold and calculating'."

Serenity nodded again, "They should also have him mention that the sky was blue, dogs chased cats and pop music still sucked."

Rolling his eyes, Kaiba glanced away from the girl. She was getting just a bit too comfortable around him. He'd have to punish her, hit her with a pillow or beat her at pool again. Teach her some proper respect. _It's exactly her casual lack of respect that makes her so appealing. _He thought to himself. Sighing inwardly, he brought his mind back to the trial. It wasn't over yet.

Calm and collected after the earlier incident, Kariudo took his seat. It was show time, and he planned to make an example of Seto Kaiba. More than that, he wanted to see the rich playboy humiliated. Incarcerated would do.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The next batch of prosecution witnesses had gone much as expected. The only witness that the defence had called was Mokuba, simply to attest to the danger of the situation. By this point it was a purely subjective case. Both Kaiba and his attorney were counting on turning one juror to hang the jury so no verdict would be returned. That would mean that they'd have to start from scratch on the trial, and the DA would likely drop it. No verdict was a good verdict. Given how jury selection had gone, if a verdict was returned it would almost certainly be bad.

Kariudo's closing statement mirrored his opening one. Kaiba's attorney's was equally uninteresting. Staring at the ceiling, Kaiba waited for the court to recess pending a verdict, and then rushed to exit.

The mob of reporters had swelled when news of Kaiba's courtroom outburst had spread. It was nearly impossible to navigate the gauntlet of calling press people, and when he finally reached his limo he once again heard one nagging reporter with a question that had to be answered. "Who's the redhead who testified for you? A Serenity Wheeler?"

Kaiba turned his head over his shoulder enough to fix the reporter with a lethal glance. "She is to be left alone," Kaiba answered coldly, then entered his limo.

He let his mind drift to the earlier slight he'd received. Duke had tried to play him for personal gain. Worse than that, he had almost succeeded. Well, one bad turn deserved another. Picking up his phone, he placed a full-page ad in tomorrow's paper. It read simply 'Tristan Taylor: Marry me – Duke Devlin'. That would suffice.

With his mind still drifting, Kaiba found himself thinking of the trial. It hadn't gone as well as he'd expected. Despite the purity of his motivations they'd managed to paint him as a cold-hearted killer. Or at least, that's how it appeared to his eyes. Serenity's testimony had worked to his advantage. The fact that so innocent a girl harboured some feelings toward him had helped his image, and since the meat of the case was subjective his image was suddenly very important.

As the limo arrived home Kaiba strode out of the car and back into the house. Mokuba, who had snuck into the limo with less fanfare than Seto, shuffled out after him, expecting Kaiba to head straight to his office. Instead, he moved to a room he rarely entered and that no one in the mansion but him ever entered.

A few hours later Serenity arrived, anxious to see how Seto felt about the trial. Cecil led her to the room Kaiba currently occupied and left her at the door. Serenity realized she'd never been into this room before, or even really noticed it. Slowly, she pushed open the door.

The room was an art gallery, only slightly larger that the first floor infirmary. It contained only original pieces, but some of them were certainly noteworthy. Eighteen different paintings lined the walls of the room, and several sculptures took up much of the floor space. Kaiba was sitting on a black marble panther, obviously not a seat, but seemed totally unaware of the piece's value. He was staring at a painting on the wall, an original Monet, so intently he didn't notice her arrival.

"Nervous?" Serenity asked tentatively, and Kaiba turned his head to regard her, "About the trial?" she clarified.

Kaiba nodded, "A little."

"You have a right to be. That much jail time is enough to make anyone a bit antsy."

"It's not that," Kaiba replied, looking back to the painting, "I just don't want to be remembered a killer."

Serenity entered the room and wrapped her arms around Kaiba's neck. So he was touchable after all. She thought back to how things had begun. The night Kaiba had been attacked she'd talked to him for the first time. He'd gotten angry with himself for revealing something that had been of no consequence. Each conversation since then, it seemed, he'd been able to open up a little bit more, to let her touch him a little more. To think of doing this before the affair with the Ghouls… well, perhaps good could come of anything.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Cecil entered the gallery to see Kaiba hunched over, sleeping while sitting atop the black marble panther. Serenity was also asleep, arms around his neck, leaning forward. The two seemed to be falling into each other, each staying upright because of the counter lean of the other. It seemed a tender moment, but he had to wake them.

He tapped Seto on the shoulder, bringing him to. In turn, Kaiba woke Serenity by tapping her on the hand, bringing her back into reality. "What is it?" Kaiba asked calmly, looking to Cecil.

"They've returned a verdict," Cecil explained. Kaiba rose, Serenity with him. The smaller of the two wrapped her arm around Seto's waist and they made their way to the limo. It was time to decide his fate.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Kaiba sat in his seat once again, trying his best to look calm. The jury shuffled in and settled in their seats, not a one of them looking at him. Everyone rose as the judge entered and sat. All was silent for a sickening moment as the judge collected himself, then looked to the foreman of the jury.

"Mr. foreman, has the jury reached a verdict?" he asked.

"We have your honour."

The judge went through each count of the indictment, stating the name of the victim along with the charge. Not guilty was the reply for the first, the second, the third… It dragged on, and with each 'not guilty' a bit of tension lifted from Kaiba's shoulders.

"In the fifteenth count of the indictment, the second-degree murder of Ian Jones, how does the jury find?"

"We find the defendant not guilty."

"In the sixteenth count of the indictment, the second-degree murder of Shinji Watanabe, how does the jury find?"

The foreman glanced at Kaiba, "We find the defendant not guilty."

Noise erupted from the courtroom and the judge beat his gavel for silence. Finally, the room quieted. The ambush of Watanabe had come out fully during Mokuba's cross-examination. Apparently, it hadn't been enough to condemn him. The judge turned his gaze to Kaiba.

"Very well. Mr. Kaiba, you're free to go."

Elation filled Kaiba as he left the courtroom. His arm was around Serenity, and he didn't know when that had happened. Mokuba held onto his other arm, relying on his big brother to guide him through the mass of the reporters. Striding out of the courthouse, he stood atop the steps of the courthouse. Questions shot from around him, most asking his thoughts on his victory. Turning to one reporter, he gave a wry grin.

"Was there ever any doubt?" he glanced at Serenity, grinning up at him from beside him. The girl seemed to fit into the position, her slender body pressed against his muscular frame. Still grinning, he turned back to the reporter.

"I'm untouchable."

A/N: I debated and debated over what the final verdict would be, but I finally decided that I just plain didn't like Seto going to jail. I'm still not happy with the verdict, but I don't think I'll get any happier than I am. I'll probably do an epilogue depending on how I, and other people, _reviewing_ people, feel. One last time, please tell me what you did and did not like. It's the only way I'll learn, people.


	14. Epilogue

A/N: This finishes it once and for all. Special thanks go out to everyone who reviewed, giving me the necessary motivation to finish this. It has been more first fic, and I think it turned out well. Apparently those who review agree with me. So, without further ado, here's the epilogue. Thanks for reading.

**Disclaimer**: You know what I don't own? Yu-Gi-Oh!

**Epilogue**

Cecil stood back and grinned. He'd just finished his duties for the day, at least until the party ended and cleanup was necessary, so he took a few moments to take it the sights. Mokuba had thrown Seto an acquittal party two years ago when his trial ended, and Kaiba had condescended so much as to actually spend a few minutes in the company of the people Mokuba had invited. It had been the usual gang, of course, but Kaiba now had two people trying to get him to tolerate the bunch and so he had decided to at least show a bit of patience toward the group.

Unfortunately for Seto, Mokuba had taken that as Seto taking an interest in the group and so had begun to invite them over more frequently. As a result, Kaiba had discovered many more rooms in his mansion in which someone could hide. He refrained from rebuking his brother for inviting the gang, but it didn't change the fact that the group irritated him. In fact, having them in his house so often only made them irritate him more. Most of the time, Serenity was up to playing hide-and-seek with him, so to speak, and that made the visits tolerable. However, occasionally, she'd decide he needed to spend some time with the gang and drag him back to the group.

Today was one such day. The group was over for a New Years party, the party Seto had come to dread the most. It meant the group would be there until midnight at the earliest, and good etiquette would likely require him to offer them a room there in his mansion for the evening. Currently, he was playing pool with Serenity; a game the two had made a habit of playing. From time to time Serenity could beat Seto, so it was the one game she'd tolerate matches of. She had no desire to go up against Seto's competitive side.

Kaiba did his best to tune out the four boys playing on his Gamecube. As far as he could tell, they were playing one of Mokuba's games, a sports game of some variety. It was only ten o'clock, so New Years festivities hadn't begun in earnest yet. He enjoyed the rare competition with Serenity. She'd tired of playing video games with him once he'd beaten her at every multi-player video game he owned. Nevertheless, Serenity had a very definite competitive streak. She was something like her brother in that respect, the difference being that she knew when she was outclassed.

Mokuba was asleep already. The kid was in his mid-teens now, but he was still as much of a child as he ever was. Kaiba had seen to that. Of all the things Gozaburo had cheated him out of, his childhood was what Seto resented the most. Mokuba would not suffer the same offence. Lying on one of the couches around the entertainment centre, the kid dozed quietly. Despite the racket in the room around, his breathing remained level and even.

Tea Gardner had invited a guest with her to this particular celebration. The man she'd been dating for almost a year had snuck off with her to suck face for a while. The two were shameless, and Kaiba found their company the most intolerable of all. Seto had cut off the guest list at that. He didn't want his house turning into some kind of resort.

Rolling across the level green field, the eight ball fell into the pocket and Kaiba stood, a slight smirk on his face. "That was too close for comfort," he commented, and Serenity grinned a little. It had come down to the eight ball and Serenity had missed her shot.

"Too close for comfort?" Serenity asked, stepping in close to Kaiba who couldn't suppress a slight smile, "Just how close is that, Mr. Kaiba?"

"Let's find out," Kaiba answered, wrapping his arms around the small girl. She had grown a few inches in the last few years, but was still almost a head shorter than Seto. Pressing her hands against his chest, Serenity looked into Kaiba's eyes. They drew in for a kiss and, as if on cue, the empty case of Mario Power Tennis struck the side of Kaiba's skull, jolting him out of his daze.

"Get a room!" Joey called, having caught sight of the embrace. He tolerated the two as a couple, but his ire toward Kaiba remained undulled over the course of the years. Similarly, Seto's distaste toward the elder Wheeler had only deepened. Still, he made an effort at being gregarious toward the man as often as possible. The effort usually came across as bait into some kind of trap, and Joey refused to take it.

Seto smirked at the comment from Joey and freed one hand to rub the spot on his head, keeping the other on Serenity's back. "Okay," he replied, a touch of lewdness in his voice.

Suddenly, Joey realized the implications of what he'd said. "No!" he yelled, terror across his face, "Don't get a room! Don't get a room!"

His reply came from Serenity, who stuck her tongue out at her older brother. She had made it clear to both the significant men in her life that she intended to hold off on that kind of thing until she was married, although she'd come close to breaking once or twice. Freeing herself from Seto's clutches, she joined the boys on the couch, between Joey and Yugi in the middle. After Seto had posted the proposal from Duke in the paper, Tristan had called to say that he would have to take some time to think about it. Tristan insisted it had been a joke, but Duke had been loathe to sit beside the pointy-headed brunette ever since.

Kaiba took a few moments to survey the room and, satisfied that his guests were engaged and enjoying themselves, he made his way to his third floor balcony. A light snow covered the garden, which seemed to flourish despite the cold, and sparkled in the moonlight. He brushed some snow from the rail of the balcony and rested his hand there, his other set in his pocket. The exchange downstairs had only strengthened his resolve to do what he had to do. He loved Serenity, and so he owed as much to her. Still, it would be one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do in his life.

Sighing, his breath formed a mist before him. The cold had permeated through the trench coat to his skin and goose bumps formed. His gaze was drawn to the nearly full moon above, shining softly down, and he closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, there was another form beside him.

"The view from here is incredible," Serenity commented, drawing herself against Seto for warmth.

Kaiba simply nodded, wrapping an arm around the girl beside him. He tried to memorize the moment, the scent of her, the exact way she looked with the snow sparkling on her. He tried to memorize it because he knew it would be a moment he would remember.

"I didn't turn out so bad, did I?" She asked, a slight smirk on her face as she contorted herself to look up at Kaiba's, "It was worth giving me a chance."

A grunt was his initial reply, and then he added, "You're almost perfect."

"Almost?" she asked, mock offence in her voice.

"There's only one thing I'd change about you, and fortunately it's within my power to do so," he commented, as though he thought it a wonderful thing to say.

Serenity backed away that time, beginning to become genuinely offended. If Kaiba suggested she get cosmetic surgery he was going to get a fist in the groin. She took a few moments to eye him, but he seemed unfazed. Finally, she asked, "What's that?" Irritation played clearly in her voice, and still Kaiba seemed stoic.

Drawing his hand from his pocket, Kaiba turned to face Serenity fully. He opened the hand to reveal a small velvet box, which he promptly opened. Inside lay a gem studded ring worth more than Serenity's tuition for a year, radiating light in the soft white shine of the moon. Her eyes darted to the ring and instantly went wide. A smile crossed Kaiba's face as he answered her question, "Your last name."

A moment later the girl was in his arms, her lips pressed against his in a fervent embrace. The box was no longer in his hands, as he wrapped them around the young woman in his arms, and by the time it hit the ground a few seconds later it was empty. Her arms snaked around his neck and then she was off the ground, lifted by the strong arms of her new fiancé. A few minutes slipped away in the desperate embrace, and then the moment passed. Kaiba set Serenity down and together they moved to rejoin the party.

"You're a jerk, you know that?" Serenity asked as they made their way down the stairs.

"Yes," Kaiba replied simply.

"And you know that I'm going to make you pay for that?" she continued.

"Yes," came the robotic reply.

"Do you have any idea how deep that hole you dug is?" she pressed, more relieved than irritated by Kaiba's teasing.

"Yes," he answered again, and then asked, "So, can we do it now?"

"No," Serenity replied curtly, "Not ever, after that."

Kaiba stopped for a moment on the stairs, "I may have critically miscalculated."

"Shut up!" Serenity shot back, shoving Seto who took the assault in stride. Scooping her up in his arms, he slid one hand under her legs and kept one on her back to hold her firmly. The stairs could be treacherous when doing such things.

"Take by force, then," Kaiba declared matter-of-factly.

Serenity wrapped her arms around Kaiba's neck again and just kissed him, stifling her own laughter at Seto's deadpan. One kiss turned into many and a few moments later Serenity found herself straddling Kaiba on the stairs as their tongues danced. Pulling her head away from Seto's she fell into his blue orbs again and lost herself. A smile crossed her face from ear to ear as she looked at the man she loved. Finally, she declared, "Maybe once or twice."

Laughing, Kaiba rose to his feet, setting Serenity on the second floor landing. Together, hands tightly clutched, the two made their way downstairs to rejoin the others. Kaiba found he almost enjoyed the evening, and the others did find they enjoyed his company a little more. After all, it was hard for Kaiba to be dark and reclusive when it felt like there were bunnies running through a field of roses in his head.

A/N: And so ends it. Again, thanks for taking the time to read, special thanks for those of you who took the time to review. And special thanks are worth fifty-six percent more than regular thanks. For those of you who like my writing style enough to read another one, I have a primarily action/adventure fic that I'm working on coming soon, so sit tight and read that one when it comes out. It's been great, thanks all.

----- Generic Hero -----


End file.
